Merci, Justin, de m’avoir accueillie à Ottawa aujourd’hui.

Thank you, Justin, for welcoming me here to Ottawa today.

Canada and the United Kingdom of course have a long shared history.

And this nation, conceived and created 150 years ago, has flourished. Over that time British and Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen and women have fought and died alongside each other in the pursuit of freedom.

We have developed the institutions of Westminster-style democracy, personal rights, and the common law.

And we celebrate together our shared monarchy, and close ties of family and friendship.

My visit to Canada today is not only about recognising our past but also looking ahead to our bright future.

We are both countries with ambitions to lead on the world stage and progressive values that underpin those ambitions.

Domestic policy coordination

We are both committed to ensuring our economies work for everyone, not just the privileged few.

And that includes eliminating the gender pay gap once and for all. We have spoken today about the importance of closing that gap and championing the rights of women and girls around the world.

That means ending the tyranny of domestic violence, sexual violence in armed conflict and educational and economic exclusion.

Our cooperation on this agenda is emblematic of the UK and Canada joining forces to share approaches at home and champion our shared values out in the world.

We will also be discussing the ways in which our governments will work together to foster innovation, including measures that will allow business to harness the opportunities of clean growth.

And we have confirmed our joint commitment to supporting the global transition away from a reliance on coal as an energy source. Once again, the UK and Canada will lead the way, and I am pleased to announce that the UK will aim to phase out unabated coal by 2025.

Trade and investment

The UK and Canada have a strong and growing economic relationship, and we are natural partners in promoting the benefits of free trade.

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the bulk of which, as the Prime Minister said, comes into effect this week, has significant potential to boost transatlantic prosperity and the UK economy, eliminating 98% of Canadian import duties and massively increasing the opportunities for British exporters.

And I am pleased that we have agreed today that CETA should be swiftly transitioned to form a new bilateral arrangement between the UK and Canada after Brexit.

As staunch champions of the power of free trade to grow our economies, Canada and the UK will also work together at the World Trade Organisation to promote and spread the benefits of free trade.

The rules-based international system established after the Second World War is under threat as never before.

We must make sure it can adapt and change to cope with new and emerging powers and the economic realities of globalisation in order to deliver growth and opportunities for all.

Defence and security cooperation

As we work to support the global economic rules-based order, so too do we stand firmly together in upholding the international norms that govern our security.

And I’m pleased to announce that we will deepen our defence and security cooperation in eastern Europe as we stand up to Russian aggression there.

We have agreed concrete steps to improve our defence cooperation and our interoperability through new joint training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the beginning of next year.

This will be the first joint training the UK has done with any other country inside Ukraine, and will involve joint reconnaissance training, joint counter-sniper training, and joint military police training.

And we will conduct a joint UK-Canada military exercise in Latvia next month, under the umbrella of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in eastern Europe.

To ensure NATO can respond to an ever-changing world, the UK and Canada will also be at the forefront of championing NATO reform and supporting its steps to modernise, including on cyber security.

And today we have discussed how we will continue to work closely together on counter terrorism and counter extremism, sharing intelligence and expertise to build community cohesion.

I want to thank the Canadian people for their support and solidarity in the wake of the terrible Manchester and London attacks, including of course the attack just last week.

You stood with us as we stood with you in the wake of the tragic Quebec attack. We will never be divided. The terrorists will not win; our values will prevail.

Conclusion

When we come together and work as one to project our shared values on the world stage, we form a powerful union.

From our cooperation as G7 members, in the Commonwealth, and in dealing with the awful aftermath of Hurricane Irma, providing life-saving aid to those in need, to the inspirational Invictus Games showcasing the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who serve their country – the UK and Canada stand side-by-side.

And I am very much looking forward to our visit later today to meet British and Canadian Invictus athletes.

The values and principles which make our countries special are needed more than ever in the world today.

So Britain and Canada can confidently face the future together.

I’m back in the Crisis Centre because once again we’ve had another meeting of COBR, which is our emergency committee, because we’re looking at an unprecedented sequence of events where having had so many hurricanes there’s now a serious danger that we’re going to get yet another.

So we are tracking Hurricane Maria and as you can see behind me we’ve got all the details to see where it’s going, and we have to prepare for the worst but hope for the best. But one of the consequences of having these earlier hurricanes is we’ve got a lot of people and equipment in place.

So what we are very vigorously doing now is trying to anticipate where the damage might lie, and pre-positioning supplies and all of the equipment that can lead to the maximum resilience for these poor people who’ve been hit once and might be hit again.

So we are focusing of course on our Overseas Territories, which on this occasion might include Montserrat, which was lightly affected last time, but we are working around the clock to do our very best. And I’d urge everybody to follow the travel advice which we are regularly updating.

Be assured that we are doing our utmost to anticipate where help is needed and to make sure that if this hurricane hits people, and hits them again, we will be there to deliver the need that people will want.

The Birmingham-based crime gang’s activities began to unravel on 12 March 2015, when a car was stopped by Border Force officers at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles, France. The driver was Lee Anderson, 46, and his passenger was Jason Cowley, 44. When the car was searched by Border Force officers, they found 2 adults and a child, all Albanian nationals, hidden in the boot. Anderson and Cowley were both arrested at the scene.

Later, on 2 August 2015, a car driven by Gillian Barker, 47, was stopped at the same controls. Officers found 2 Albanian men hidden in the boot and Barker was arrested. On both occasions, the Albanians found in the cars were handed to the French authorities.

The cases were passed to Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) team who, following investigations, linked both smuggling attempts to 3 further individuals. On 13 October 2015, officers searched the homes of Illir Hani, 44, Eduart Karaj, 39, and Vullnet Karaj, 41.

Travel and telephone records linked the three gang members to the 2 smuggling detections. Investigations also showed that Eduart Karaj and Vullnet Karaj were following Anderson and Cowley in a separate car at the first detection to make sure it got through safely. The car used by Barker had also previously been driven by Karaj and Karaj on 12 March 2015 when in convoy with Anderson and Cowley and was previously owned by Vullnet Karaj.

Hani, Karaj and Karaj, all Albanian nationals, were all arrested on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration.

Eduart Karaj, Jason Cowley, Lee Anderson and Gillian Barker all entered guilty pleas at the beginning of their trial last month. Ilir Hani and Vullnet Karaj pleaded not guilty but were convicted.

They were all charged with conspiring to facilitate the commission of a breach of the UK immigration law by a non EU person and sentenced as follows:

Ilir Hani – 5 and a half years Vullnet Karaj – 5 years Eduart Karaj – 4 years Jason Cowley – 30 months Lee Anderson – 30 months Gillian Barker – 20 months

Assistant Director, David Fairclough, from CFI, said:

This was an organised crime group, motivated by money, that has been dismantled thanks to the dedication and expertise of Immigration Enforcement and Border Force officers.

The border detections were only the start of our investigations. As time passed Eduart Karaj, Vullnet Karaj and Hani may have believed that their offences had gone undetected, but my officers were digging deeper, gathering the evidence that would ultimately ensure that they too were held to account for their offences.

This case sends a clear message. We are patient people and never stop looking for those involved in immigration crime.

Paul Morgan, Director Border Force South East and Europe, said:

The Border Force detections were the crucial first step in bringing these offenders to justice. Border Force officers are on the frontline keeping our borders safe and secure. We will continue to work with law enforcement colleagues to ensure that people smugglers and traffickers face the consequences of their crimes.

Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

VIDEOS AND IMAGES – view and download from Google drive

The UK is in position to respond to further extreme weather in the Caribbean as the approaching Storm Maria is reclassified as a hurricane. The hurricane comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded.

UK experts on the ground are working closely with national authorities to prepare for the approaching hurricane. Staff, military assets and relief supplies remain in the region and are ready to respond.

DFID, alongside other government departments, are already working on plans to deal with the hurricane’s aftermath and are in close contact with Governor’s offices. This includes efforts to get people to public shelters and secure loose materials and debris which could cause further injuries.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

We are under no illusions about the possible impact of Hurricane Maria and are taking every measure possible to prepare communities which have already been devastated by Hurricane Irma.

British troops, police and aid experts are working relentlessly to get help to the victims of Hurricane Irma. Those same individuals will now be tasked with also preparing for the impact of Maria, and to ensure support continues to get to those in need.

Chris Austin, the Head of the UK’s Joint Task force, added:

We are planning for the unexpected, we are planning for the worst. We need to demonstrate our own resilience because there is a real chance that Hurricane Maria may significantly impact on our existing efforts to provide relief.

To date, 75 tonnes of DFID relief items have either arrived or been procured in the region including much needed food, water, nearly 3000 shelter kits, 5,000 hygiene kits and 10,000 buckets.

A further 60 tonnes of aid and reconstruction materials is on the way to the region on HMS Ocean, and DFID has chartered a number of flights and vessels which will transport additional relief items to the affected islands.

The UK is also leading the way in the long-term reconstruction of islands hit by Hurricane Irma. Speaking at the 72nd session of the United Nations along with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Ms Patel will say that whilst relief effort will go on, plans are being put in place to help rebuild on the islands, more resiliently than in the past, so a future hurricane won’t be as devastating.

UK aid is already having a significant impact on many of the victims including Dorothy, a victim of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands, who said:

I was so happy when the soldier told me yesterday that my house was the first house that was fixed. He said that they had given people things to fix their houses but my house was the first house that a soldier came and fixed. I said God I’m blessed.

I was the happiest person on earth because I was very sad because I had lost everything. With whatever people give me, or what I can get myself, I’ll fix up my place so it looks like somewhere I can live.

Notes to Editors

• Maria is currently a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80mph. The hurricane is expected to strengthen as it heads towards the Leeward Islands (Barbados). Hurricane warnings are in place for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat and Anguilla.

• 32 aid experts, 1,300 military personnel and 59 police officers are working on the UK’s response.

• So far the UK has committed nearly £60 million as part of its response to Hurricane Irma.