HM Government

Thank you Mr President and may I thank Secretary-General Liu and Ambassador Aboulatta for their briefings, which were both informative and I thought contained some important recommendations for us all to take note of. So thank you for those.

A year ago, this Council met to pass the first ever resolution on the terrorist threat facing civil aviation. Through that unanimous adoption, we showed our joint resolve to protect our citizens from a shared and escalating threat. And we started a global discussion on how together we would improve aviation security standards.

So we welcome the good work that followed over the past twelve months. It speaks volumes of the momentum created by resolution 2309 that the Global Aviation Security Plan was completed two years ahead of the original schedule. And we look forward to the plan being endorsed later this year by the International Civil Aviation Organisation Council. We believe that this council should then add its endorsement and call to action.

And yet, one year on from 2309, it is clear that the threat facing civilian aviation has not diminished. Instead, it has evolved. You will recall the plot to smuggle bombs inside laptops which led the UK and US to ban larger electronics from cabins of aircraft for several months this year. Or the failed attack at Sydney’s international airport just two months ago – a sophisticated effort that would have claimed hundreds of innocent lives.

These are but two examples of the terrorists’ unrelenting desire to bring death and destruction to our skies. These plots should remind us all we cannot relent in our efforts to keep our citizens safe.

Instead, we need to maintain the resolve we found a year ago. This means each and every ICAO Member State turning their commitment to the Global Aviation Security Plan into real action. Lip-service is simply no deterrent. Those who believe that their airports and carriers are somehow immune from terrorist targeting are not just wrong, they’re also irresponsible, shirking both their obligations and the common responsibility we have to protect the global industry and our peoples who use it. Aviation is part of the lifeblood of our economies.

We recognise that implementing ICAO’s agreed standards – and doing so on the basis of recommended practices, validated by robust verification – is a challenge for some, no matter how good their intentions. So let us support each other through technical co-operation and capacity development as spelled out in 2309. The UK has recently tripled its budget for such assistance and has an active programme working alongside dozens of fellow Member States. I call on other Council members to do the same.

And it’s not just ICAO members who can do more. I see three ways for the United Nations, together with ICAO, to work better to ensure that aviation security remains at the top of the agenda, getting the attention it requires.

Firstly, threats to aviation security should be routinely included in UN reporting related to terrorism. We encourage the Al-Qaeda and Daesh Monitoring Team to make sure that they ask states about threats to aviation security and that these are properly assessed in the team’s regular reporting.

Second, we welcome the close cooperation that has developed between CTED and ICAO. These two agencies already work together closely and are developing a cooperation agreement. We encourage continued collaboration on CTED country assessments, but also on sharing information, research, and analysis about the emerging trends in terrorist threats to civil aviation, and also cutting-edge ways that they can be mitigated.

And third, we encourage the new UN Office of Counter Terrorism to work closely with ICAO and make capacity-building in aviation security a priority. We encourage them together to identify and deliver appropriate capacity-building projects in line with the actions and tasks set out in the Global Aviation Security Plan.

In conclusion, Mr President, the first anniversary of 2309 is a moment in part to reflect on what has been achieved over the last year. But it needs to be far more than that. It should also be a moment when we ask how we sustain the momentum created by 2309, by putting into practice what we have committed to on paper.

Thank you.

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Highways England is providing the bins as part of a North West initiative to tackle littering after over 40,000 sacks of rubbish had to be collected from motorways in the region last year – an average of 108 sacks for every mile of motorway.

The window-height bins are being installed at around a dozen service areas in the North West over the next few months, and the first bins have been installed at Lymm Services by the M6 in Cheshire this week.

Two different sizes of bins are being installed – ranging from 1.8 to 2.2 metres high – next to Give Way lines at the exit to service area car parks. The bins allow both car and lorry drivers to reach the half-a-metre-wide funnels from their vehicles’ windows.

Paul Elliott, Service Delivery Team Leader at Highways England, said:

We’re committed to tackling littering on our network and are installing the funnel bins at service areas in the North West. The bins offer another opportunity for road users to dispose of their rubbish responsibly within service areas.

Our teams of workers do a fantastic job removing litter from motorways every year but we’d much rather they were able to spend more of their time carrying out maintenance work.

The new giant funnel bins will make it much easier for drivers to get rid of their litter as they won’t need to leave their vehicles, and I’d urge drivers to either use the bins on the network or to take their litter home with them.

It costs taxpayers an estimated £40 for each sack of litter collected from motorways – roughly the same cost as fixing a pothole.

Litter poses a risk to other drivers if it lands on windscreens, causes a threat to wildlife and leads to flooding if drains become blocked so litter picking is regularly carried out across the network.

Rubbish has to be collected close to fast-moving traffic – putting workers at risk – and lane closures are often needed, causing needless disruption to drivers.

Paul Cooper, 46 from Bolton, has been collecting litter from motorways in the North West for 19 years as part of his job as a maintenance worker for Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald. Paul’s other duties include filling potholes, repairing safety barriers and clearing drains. He said:

I think most drivers who sling litter out their windows don’t really think about what they’re doing, and that someone like me has to come along and clear up after them. It tends to be worst on slip roads or where there’s standing traffic, as that’s when drivers seem to decide to have a clear out of their cars.

There’s always an element of risk when you’re working on the network as you’re near traffic so my message to drivers is please stop dropping litter and use the bins or take it home with you instead.

The bins are being installed as part of a North West litter initiative, which also involves trialling new signs with the message ‘Workers lives are put at risk picking your litter’ and carrying out extra litter picking patrols to help tackle the issue.

CCTV footage has also been released which shows a lorry driver discarding an oil container at the side of the M62 near Rochdale after pulling over to the hard shoulder to add oil to his vehicle’s engine. The footage is available to watch at https://youtu.be/5kwOY-kBuAI.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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The Prime Minister spoke to leader of the Democratic Unionist Party Arlene Foster and leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill about the Boeing – Bombardier trade dispute.

In separate phone calls the Prime Minister said how today’s statement was very disappointing news and expressed concern about the implications this could have for jobs and livelihoods and the wider economy in Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister said how she had personally raised this issue recently with President Trump, Prime Minister Trudeau and the Chief Executive of Bombardier.

On UK Government support, the Prime Minister said how ministers across Government – including Greg Clark and James Brokenshire – were continuing to engage intensively with Boeing, Bombardier, the Canadian Government, the US Administration and others on this important issue.

They also discussed how, while this was a preliminary judgment, it was an uncertain and worrying time for the workers and their families at the Bombardier facility and how the UK Government wanted to see a credible solution reached as quickly as possible.

The Prime Minister welcomed how both leaders had been working together to protect jobs and put Northern Ireland’s case forward on this issue.

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The Interministerial Group will look at the UK response to hurricane hit Islands.

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Mark Field, Minister for Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has become the first foreign minister from outside the region to visit Rakhine state in Burma since the crisis there escalated with hundreds of thousands fleeing to Bangladesh. He held talks in Burma with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to press for an urgent resolution to the crisis in Rakhine.

The meeting in Naypyidaw followed a visit by Mr Field to Rakhine State where he saw for himself the displacement of people caused by recent violence against the Royingya Muslims that has seen more than 400,000 fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Mr Field made clear the violence needs to stop, with the security forces taking responsibility to protect all communities and the government allowing full humanitarian access for aid. He also emphasised Britain’s call for the Burmese government to implement the recommendations of Kofi Annan’s Rakhine Advisory Commission, to create the conditions in which Muslim, Buddhist and other communities can live along side each other peacefully and sustainably.

Mr Field also travelled to Rakhine and met the Rakhine Chief Minister Nyi Pu and State Executive Secretary U Tin Maung Swe, as well Rakhine-based UN agencies and international NGOs. He visited camps set up for Rohingya Muslims and other displaced communities who have remained in the country.

Last week Mr Field and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took part in key talks on the Rakhine issue at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mr Field said:

What we have seen in Rakhine in the past few weeks is an absolute and unacceptable tragedy. We need the violence to stop and all those who have fled to be able to return to their homes quickly and safely. The UK has taken a central role driving a clear international response, including securing a United Nations Security Council statement.

During my meetings with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and others, I strongly emphasised the need for Burma to heed the Security Council’s call to end violence and allow humanitarian access to those in need of aid.

I have also seen for myself some of the communities which have been so badly damaged by what has happened here. Burma has taken great strides forward in recent years. But the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Rakhine risks derailing that progress.

Mr Field and FCO-DFID Joint Minister Alistair Burt will tomorrow (Thursday 28) hold talks in Bangladesh with key Government officials and aid agencies to identify how best to provide lifesaving support to the large influx of refugees from Burma.

The UK has already announced an extra £30 million of funding to meet urgent humanitarian needs of those affected in Bangladesh and Burma, with the majority of the funding due to be spent in Bangladesh.

Notes to Editors:

A further £5.9 million was committed prior to this influx to meet the needs of the most vulnerable refugees and the host communities who support them.

Violence in Burma Must Stop

Further information

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