Formal steps need to be undertaken on both sides before the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) can be signed but it is expected that this can be done expeditiously.

The MoU, once signed, creates the framework for voluntary regulatory cooperation in financial services between the UK and the EU. The MoU will establish the Joint UK-EU Financial Regulatory Forum, which will serve as a platform to facilitate dialogue on financial services issues.

The seventh meeting of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee was held today via video conference and co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and the European Commission. It took place in a constructive atmosphere.

A representative from the Northern Ireland Executive also attended as part of the UK delegation in line with the commitment made in the New Decade, New Approach deal.

The UK and EU took stock of the outstanding issues raised by both parties and discussed the way forward. The UK made clear that continued progress would require action from the EU as well as the UK. Accordingly, the UK set out its expectation that establishment of an agreed work programme would help to ensure the acceptable resolution of those issues in a way that ensured minimum disruption to everyday life in Northern Ireland.

The UK also welcomed the EU’s commitment jointly to engage with business, civil society and other stakeholders in Northern Ireland. They agreed that there should be further dialogue in the coming weeks.

Noting the need for ongoing engagement and the need to make meaningful progress in a constructive fashion, the UK and EU agreed to remain in regular contact over the coming weeks.

In taking this work forward, the UK continues to be clear that the operation of the Protocol must take place in a proportionate and pragmatic way, capable of maintaining cross-community confidence, and consistent with the overriding need to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions, including East / West as well as North / South.

The latest meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce was held yesterday (25 March 2021).

It was chaired by Transport Minister, Baroness Vere. Attendees included the Project Director Dana Skelley, plus representatives from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the Greater London Authority, Transport for London (TfL) and the Port of London Authority.

Dana Skelley, speaking on behalf of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce, said:

At yesterday’s taskforce we were glad to be joined by representatives from Fosters & Partners and COWI who presented the initial results of the feasibility study into their proposal for a temporary bridge. Officials and engineers from LBHF, TfL and DfT will join me in interrogating the project plan, the costings and the timeline as quickly as possible so that it can be compared alongside current proposals. A decision on the route forward will then be able to be taken.

The group noted that the inspection of the bridge’s western pedestals had now been completed by LBHF’s engineering consultants Mott MacDonald. We look forward to receiving Motts’ report on this work.

The Taskforce also heard the latest from TfL regarding the procurement for the temporary ferry service. We expect TfL to make a further announcement on the service in the coming days.

Lastly, we were pleased to note agreement has been reached to extend the window for controlled river transits. The river community can expect to receive further communication from the Port of London Authority shortly.

The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce was set up by the Department for Transport in September 2020 to work towards safely reopening the Hammersmith Bridge.

The taskforce is chaired by Baroness Vere and includes representatives from TfL, LBHF, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Network Rail, the Greater London Authority and the Port of London Authority.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:

Today the Chinese Charge d’Affaires, Yang Xiaoguang, was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Minister for Asia, Nigel Adams MP, made clear Beijing’s decision to impose sanctions on British individuals and entities is unwarranted and unacceptable.

The Minister noted that China has chosen to sanction individuals and entities that are seeking to shine a light on human rights violations and that today’s actions would not distract attention away from those very violations taking place in Xinjiang.

Background:

• The Charge d’affaires was summoned due to China not currently having an Ambassador in London following the end of the previous incumbent’s tenure.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) prosecuted Adeel Yasin, who is the director of Prime London Services Ltd, after one of their investigators found an unlicensed security guard during checks at a BP garage under renovation in Oxfordshire.

Adeel Yasin was fined £1000 by magistrates on 15 March and ordered to pay court costs of £1400 plus a victim surcharge of £100. The court also fined Prime London Services £1000 and ordered it to pay court costs of £1541.25 plus a victim surcharge of £100. Yasin had originally pleaded not guilty but changed his plea when he heard the evidence against him.

Nathan Salmon, of the SIA Criminal Investigation Team, said:

Adeel Yasin failed to undertake proper checks on the operatives for which he was responsible. He should have made sure that any staff supplied to him by a subcontractor were correctly licensed and therefore working legally. His negligence has cost him a substantial amount of money. It may also cost him his career in the security industry and his livelihood.

The SIA investigator found the unlicensed operative working at the BP Garage in Stadhampton, Oxfordshire on 22 October 2019. The guard claimed that he was covering for a friend and that he had left his licence at home. He left the site when the investigator went back to his car to check SIA licence records.

The SIA contacted Adeel Yasin, whose company Prime London Services had been providing security for the site. Yasin said that the guard had been supplied to Prime by a subcontractor. Yasin told SIA investigators that he had previously checked the licence of the security guard “from a distance” by car headlight during a night-time visit to the garage.

Though the SIA have not been able identify the guard, an inspection of the site signing-in sheets gave investigators reason to believe that he had in fact worked on several previous occasions.

Notes to editors:

1. By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence. Information about SIA enforcement and penalties can be found on the website

2. The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 that are mentioned in the above news release are as follows:

• Section 5 deploying unlicensed guards
• Section 23 consent, connivance or neglect of directors for employing unlicensed guards

The Private Security Industry Act 2001 is available online: The Private Security Industry Act 2001

Further information:

• The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Our main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.
• For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (SIAuk).
• Media enquiries only please contact: 0300 123 9869, media.enquiries@sia.gov.uk