The event included a meeting with Kikit, a West Midlands-based group that works with mosques and communities to provide mentoring and support for individuals who are vulnerable to terrorist recruiters. The Home Secretary also attended a workshop run b… read more
From engineering support to the UN in South Sudan, to helping counter the threat from terror in Somalia, the Minister was able to see the breadth of the UK’s role in Africa.
In Mogadishu, Mr Penning met British troops working with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is building stability, and tackling the threat posed by Al-Shabaab.
Following travel to Bentiu and Malakal, the Minister was greeted by UK military personnel providing support to the UN Mission in South Sudan, which is working to achieve stability in the East African nation. Up to 400 personnel will deploy this year – making it one of the UK’s largest operational deployments in the world – enabling the building of a field hospital to support UN peacekeepers.
As the visit moved to Uganda and Kenya, Mr Penning watched pre-deployment training of their military personnel, many of who go on to serve in AMISOM.
Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mike Penning said:
In Uganda, Armed Forces Minister Mike Penning met UK troops supporting pre-deployment training for the African Union Mission in Somalia. Crown Copyright.It has been a privilege to see our Armed Forces operating across multiple countries, in different environments, in support of our African partners. The training and support provided by our dedicated men and women clearly demonstrates that Britain has genuinely global reach. This is no less so in South Sudan where we are playing a major role in the international peacekeeping effort, meeting the commitment made by the Prime Minister last year to double our support to the United Nations.
Throughout the visit the Armed Forces Minister met with Government ministers and UN representatives to help deepen Defence relationships, and discuss shared interests and regional challenges.
In Somalia, The Minister met President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, National Security Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow, and Mr Penning became the first international Minister to meet Somalia’s new Defence Minister Abdirashid Abdullahi Mohamed. He also spoke with UN Special Representative Michael Keating.
After leaving Bentiu and Malakal, the Minister travelled to Juba and met Defence Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk, UN Special Representative David Shearer, and Commanding Officer of the UK engineers in South Sudan Lt Col Jason Ainley.
Uganda and Kenya provide important contributions to AMISOM, and in both countries Mr Penning saw UK delivered pre-deployment training.
In Uganda, the Minister saw Ugandan troops receiving training at the Peace Operations Training Centre, Singo, before meeting Defence Minister Adolf Mwesige in Kampala.
Finally, in Nairobi, the Minister met personnel from the British Army Training Unit Kenya, which trains thousands of UK troops every year.
Mr Penning also visited the Humanitarian Peace Support School and British Peace Support Team Eastern Africa, which deliver AMISOM pre-deployment and other training to international military personnel, before meeting Kenyan Defence Minister Raychelle Omamo.
Armed Forces Minister Mike Penning’s visit included Kenya, where he met Kenyan Defence Minister Raychelle Omamo. Crown Copyright. read moreThe Prime Minister and President of the European Council Donald Tusk had talks this afternoon in Downing Street following last week’s Article 50 notification.
The PM reiterated the UK’s desire to ensure a deep and special partnership with the European Union following its exit and noted the constructive approach set out by the Council in its draft guidelines published last week.
She said the UK looked forward to formally beginning negotiations once the 27 member states agreed guidelines. Both leaders agreed that the tone of discussions had been positive on both sides, and agreed that they would seek to remain in close touch as the negotiations progressed.
The PM also made clear that on the subject of Gibraltar, the UK’s position had not changed: the UK would seek the best possible deal for Gibraltar as the UK exits the EU and there would be no negotiation on the sovereignty of Gibraltar without the consent of its people.
With the UK also remaining a full and engaged member of the EU for the next 2 years, the PM and Donald Tusk also discussed the agenda for the next EU Council meeting.
read moreThe Environment Agency is appealing for information in the Andover area following a pollution incident on the River Anton.
The Environment Agency were alerted to a pollution of oil on the River Anton close to Andover College on 4 April.
Since then, Environment Officers have been working on site to determine the source and reduce the impact on the environment, and booms have been deployed across the river to contain the pollution.
Adam Fulton, Area Duty Manager for the Environment Agency, said:
Our Environment Officers are working hard at the site to manage the environmental impact, and at the moment we have had no reports of dead fish.
We will continue to investigate the source of pollution, and are asking anyone who might be able to assist our enquiries to call our Incident Hotline on 0800 807060.
Works are now complete to secure an unrecorded mine shaft, which caused a ground collapse at Kilbowie Road, Clydebank.
The collapse was caused by a mine shaft that was not detailed in historical mining records, but we believe that it was used to extract coal, limestone and iron ore over 100 years ago.
While only a 6 metre diameter hole was initially visible at the surface, investigations using laser scanning technology identified this led to a 200 cubic metre void on top of the unrecorded mine shaft, which went down a further 56 metres.
Laser scan showing the void beneath Kilbowie RoadThe depth of the mine shaft is the equivalent to the height of 14 double decker buses stacked on top of one another.
Our team of experts designed a solution to safely:
This repair was further complicated by exposed utility services in the void that needed to be protected during the works. A fractured foul water sewer and storm water drain within the ground collapse also made the repair more complex, with water needing to be pumped over 150 metres around the void during the works.
The Coal Authority’s works at Kilbowie Road, ClydebankTim Marples, Head of Public Safety and Subsidence, said:
“Our team has now completed works to secure the mine shaft and we’ve handed over the site to West Dunbartonshire Council who are leading on the road reinstatement works.
“It’s been a complex repair project, but our team’s been operating 7 days a week to ensure it was completed as quickly as possible.
“We’d like to thank residents for their patience while our works have taken place.”
A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said:
“Following the completion of the Coal Authority’s repairs, work will begin to fill the void above the shaft, reinstate services, commence the road reconstruction and resurface the road.
“This phase of the repairs was anticipated to take up to 16 weeks, however, we hope to have completed this work by the end of June.
“If residents have any specific queries we would encourage them to email roads@west-dunbarton.gov.uk so that we can help.”
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