The government has provided Britishvolt with a final grant offer through the Automotive Transformation Fund for its planned gigafactory in Northumberland.

The factory will produce enough batteries for over 300,000 electric vehicles each year, significantly supporting the UK automotive industry’s transition to a zero emissions future and increased production of electric vehicles. The project is set to create 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000 indirect jobs in the wider supply chain.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

I’m delighted to confirm we have now provided Britishvolt with a final grant offer through the Automotive Transformation Fund. The Blyth gigafactory will turbocharge our plans to embed a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK and it is fantastic to see how the project is progressing.

The vast site will ensure Britain can fully capture the benefits of the booming global electric vehicle market. The well-paid jobs and growth it will generate for the North East of England will be transformational and are exactly the reason we are investing to make the UK the best place in the world for automotive manufacturing.

The government originally announced backing for the project in January 2022.

The Automotive Transformation Fund is an £850 million programme to electrify Britain’s automotive supply chain and protect our nation’s competitiveness in the global market.

An updated bilateral arrangement, signed in an official ceremony during the visit, brings benefits to both countries. These are implemented through work strands set up to further hone cyber skills and capabilities, share information and experience, and draw on the relative strengths within each organisation.

As part of the visit, discussions were held on the CIDS approach to Cyber Operations and Cyber Career Management, and the establishment of an eighth ‘Cyber Componency’ work strand.

This new strand focuses on pooling cyber lessons from exercises and operational activity to improve how the UK and Germany operate in the Cyber Domain.

Speaking on the partnership, Lt Gen Copinger-Symes said;

With conflict on our doorstep, close cooperation with like-minded partners has never been more important. That’s why our partnership with CIDS is so exciting.

It brings significant opportunities to learn from each other, pool resources and work together to strengthen the whole of NATO in this developing area of business.

This sentiment was echoed by Vice Admiral Dr Thomas Daum, Commander and Chief of CIDS, who said;

Our bilateral work in the cyber domain will help to ensure the safety of both countries, and our allies, in cyberspace.

By sharing our skills and experience we can develop a greater understanding of how we can best integrate cyber into our defence operations to offer the competitive edge required.

The visit follows on from a productive workshop hosted in Northwood earlier this year led by Major General James Roddis, Director Strategy Strategic Command, and Brigadier General Peter Richert, Head CIDS Operations.

Plans are in place to hold a second workshop later in the year, to complement the regular meetings at work strand level to ensure progress continues.

A man who attempted to import a gun into the UK has received an increased prison sentence after his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the then Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP.

From November 2021-February 2022, Haroon Iqbal, now 32, ordered various gun parts from the dark web and gave the seller detailed instructions on how to hide them in packages to avoid detection.

He was caught after unknowingly communicating with an undercover US Law Enforcement officer while carrying out his plan.

On 26 May 2022, Iqbal was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to 2 years 3 months’ imprisonment for attempting to possess a prohibited weapon.

Following the sentencing, the then Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP, referred Iqbal’s sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme as he felt that the original sentence was too low.

On 27 July 2022 the Court found his original sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to 3 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

Speaking after the hearing, the now Solicitor General Edward Timpson CBE QC MP said:

Iqbal devised a sophisticated plan to bring a prohibited weapon into the UK, and knowingly tried to evade law enforcement to achieve this.

I welcome the decision to increase his sentence, which better reflects the serious nature of this offence and its potential consequences had Iqbal been successful.

Figures for Scotland’s GDP for May 2022 have been published here today [Wednesday 27 July 2022].

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

Seeing the economy growing is a good sign, but we recognise there are challenges ahead and we remain focused on supporting families with the rising cost of living.

That’s why we’ve put in place a £37 billion support package to help those who need it most. Last week we began making cost of living payments, part of a scheme that ensures almost all of the UK’s vulnerable 8 million low-income households will receive support of at least £1,200. That’s on top of raising the National insurance threshold, cutting the Universal Credit Taper Rate and increasing the National Living Wage to ensure workers keep more of their wages in their pockets.

Achieving a strong and sustainable economic recovery is our priority. We’re spending £2 billion levelling up communities across Scotland, creating well-paid and highly-skilled jobs, and we’re also investing a further £52 million to create two Green Freeports in Scotland that will boost investment and trade as well as encouraging long-term prosperity by creating jobs and regenerating communities.