News story: Pauline Mary report and flyer published

Fatal man overboard from the fishing vessel Pauline Mary while east of Hartlepool.

MAIB’s report on the fatal man overboard from the potting fishing vessel Pauline Mary, east of Hartlepool on 2 September 2016 is now published.

The report contains details of what happened, subsequent actions taken, and recommendations made:

A safety flyer for the fishing industry summarising the accident and detailing the safety lessons learned has also been produced.




Press release: Change of Governor of the British Virgin Islands

2015 – present Cabinet Office, Director of Security and Intelligence, National Security Secretariat 2014 – 2015 Member, Royal College of Defence Studies 2012 – 2014 No 10 Downing Street, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 2009 – 2012 Home Office, Head of Drugs and Alcohol and Head of Policing 2007 – 2009 HM Treasury, Delivery Manager, Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit 2001 – 2007 Surrey County Council, Lead Manager, Children’s Services



News story: Service of commemoration for 7 World War 2 Royal Air Force (RAF) servicemen

Crew members of 514 Squadron based at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire who died when their aircraft crashed killing all 7 onboard were honoured in a service of commemoration on Friday 28 April 2017 at Heverlee War Cemetery, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium.

The Reverend Ashley Mitchell RAF delivers the Service of Commemoration. Copyright Danielle Roubroeks. All rights reserved.

The service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), part of Defence Business Services was conducted by the Reverend (Wing Commander) Ashley Mitchell RAF and supported by RAF Defence Staff based in Belgium. The ceremony was attended by British and Australian Defence Staff, 514 Squadron representatives and local dignitaries.

Flying Officer Lloyd Burgess RAF delivers the RAF Collect at the Service of Commemoration. Copyright Danielle Roubroeks. All rights reserved.

Beverley Simon, JCCC said:

It has been a tremendous privilege for the JCCC to have organised this service of commemoration for the 7 crew members of Lancaster NN775 and to ensure that the appropriate level of dignity, ceremony and respect has been afforded.

We are especially delighted that so many of the crew’s families were able to attend the service, some from as far afield as the USA.

On 5 March 1945, the crew members of Lancaster NN775 took off from RAF Waterbeach for a raid on Gelsenkirchen, Belgium. While flying near Tirlemont, the aircraft suddenly went into a dive from which the pilot was unable to recover. All of the crew were buried together in a collective grave in Heverlee War Cemetery in Belgium.

The crew members remembered were:

Rank and full name Role Age Place of birth
Sergeant Christopher George Hogg Mid-Upper Gunner 20 South Yardley, Birmingham
Sergeant William Marsden Flight Engineer 20 Chorley, Lancashire
Flying Officer Holman Gordon Stanley Kerr Pilot 23 Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland
Sergeant Herbert Percival Thomas Rear Gunner 23 Clarendon, Jamaica
Flight Sergeant Allan Olsen RAAF Wireless Operator/Air Gunner 21 Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Flight Sergeant Sidney Smith Navigator 21 Not stated
Flying Officer Frank Clarke Air Bomber Not stated Not stated

Families of all of the crew were traced and 17 family members were present at the ceremony with wreaths being laid on behalf of all 7 crew by each of the respective families. Amongst the relatives who paid their respects included the niece of Sergeant Herbert Thomas (Joe), Paulette Thomas, who had travelled with her family from the USA to attend the ceremony. Joe’s family were originally from Cuba but migrated to Jamaica. As Jamaica was under British rule in 1945, Joe was listed as a UK national.

Paulette Thomas said:

My uncle died long before my siblings and I were born but his essence was deep rooted in our family. It is awesome that there is a family thousands of miles across the ocean who knew him and can share with us memories and pictures of him. We honour his service and are proud to call him family.

Jeff Temple, nephew of Sergeant Sidney Smith said:

Our uncle Sidney was the Navigator on Lancaster NN775. My sister Susan and I were raised with Sidney very much present, with his photograph on the mantelpiece and our mother telling us stories of him fighting extremism. He was our hero, and gone, but not forgotten.

The excavation and the present commemoration have brought him to life for us, and we thank everyone involved for the opportunity to pay our respects to this young man, and indeed to all the crew. These young men are heroes to each of us, and remind us of our duty to continue with this fight for tolerance.




News story: CMA refers Cygnet/Cambian merger for in-depth investigation

Cygnet’s merger with the Cambian adult services division of Cambian Group plc has been referred for an in-depth investigation.

On 21 April, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it would refer the merger for an in-depth investigation, called a phase 2 investigation, unless Cygnet offered acceptable undertakings to address competition concerns.

Cygnet has not offered any undertakings and the CMA will therefore now refer the merger.

The CMA’s initial investigation identified competition concerns in relation to the provision of rehabilitation services to patients suffering from long-term mental health issues in 8 areas, and patients suffering from personality disorder in 4 areas.

A decision on the merger will be made by a group of independent panel members supported by a team of CMA staff. The deadline for the final report will be 17 October 2017.




News story: ATM merger faces in-depth investigation

Both companies – Cardtronics plc (Cardtronics) and DirectCash Payments (DCP) – are independent ATM deployers supplying cashpoints to site owners, such as convenience stores and pubs.

Independent ATM deployers face competition from banks and building societies to supply ATMs to large site owners in high ‘footfall’ locations such as supermarkets, shopping centres or transport hubs. However independent ATM deployers also supply smaller non-corporate customers whose cashpoints typically have lower numbers of transactions and are often pay-to-use.

Cardtronics and DCP supply both free-to-use and pay-to-use ATMs.

Following its initial investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) believes that, in those local areas where there is insufficient competition from rival ATMs, the merger could lead to increased surcharge fees for customers withdrawing cash. Given the potential lack of suitable sites and the cost of supplying new ATMs, entry into these local areas by competitors would not be sufficiently likely to prevent an increase in fees.

The merger will now be referred for an in-depth phase 2 investigation by an independent group of CMA panel members – unless Cardtronics is able to offer undertakings which sufficiently address the substantial lessening of competition in relation to supply of ATMs to users on a local basis.

Cardtronics has until 10 May 2017 to offer undertakings that might be accepted by the CMA. If no undertaking is offered or accepted, then the CMA will refer the merger for a phase 2 merger investigation. Further details on the investigation can be found on the case page.