SOURCE: Scottish Africa Business Association (SABA)
The Ambassador’s visit will include meetings with key stakeholders from government, industry and academia, as well as a number of roundtables and site visits with Scottish businesses eager to explore opportunities in Morocco
ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 13, 2025 – The Scottish Africa Business Association (SABA) (www.AfricaScot.com) is delighted to announce the forthcoming visit of His Excellency Hakim Hajoui, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Kingdom, to Scotland. This high-level visit will focus on strengthening partnerships between Scotland and Morocco across the energy, renewable energy and agriculture sectors.
The Ambassador’s visit will include meetings with key stakeholders from government, industry and academia, as well as a number of roundtables and site visits with Scottish businesses eager to explore opportunities in Morocco – one of Africa’s most dynamic and forward-looking economies.
Morocco has established itself as a renewable energy leader in Africa, with a goal of sourcing over 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. Major investment opportunities exist in solar, wind, green hydrogen and grid infrastructure. The country is also undertaking significant modernisation of its agriculture sector, with a focus on sustainable farming, water management, and agri-tech innovation — all areas where Scottish companies and research institutions have exceptional capabilities.
Education and skills training will also be a key focus of the visit, as both Scotland and Morocco recognise the importance of developing human capital to drive forward innovation and economic growth. Scottish universities and training institutions have a long history of providing world-class education, and through new partnerships, there is a real opportunity to support Morocco’s workforce development in line with its evolving industrial needs.
Seona Shand, Chief Operating Officer of the Scottish Africa Business Association, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Ambassador of Morocco to Scotland. This visit comes at a pivotal time as Morocco accelerates its ambitious green energy transition and advances major agricultural reforms. Scotland’s world-class expertise in renewable energy, offshore wind, green hydrogen and agricultural innovation is a perfect match for Morocco’s ambitions. We see enormous opportunities for Scottish businesses to partner with Moroccan counterparts, share know-how and co-create solutions that will benefit both nations.”
The visit will serve as a catalyst for building new partnerships, enhancing trade and investment and cultivating knowledge exchange between Scotland and Morocco.
Companies can register to attend at https://apo-opa.co/456agPk Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Scottish Africa Business Association (SABA).
About the Scottish Africa Business Association (SABA): SABA is the preeminent non-political, Africa focussed, members trade organisation with an unrivalled board of experienced directors which promotes trade, investment and knowledge sharing between Scotland’s world class expertise and Africa’s priority sectors including energy, agriculture, the blue economy, healthcare, skills training and education by leveraging extensive commercial, trade, political and government contacts across Scotland and Africa.
As part of this, our team organises private meetings, round tables, seminars, conferences, global trade missions and offers market research, intelligence sharing and consultancy services.
A New Hampshire doctor pleaded guilty today to unlawfully distributing a controlled substance. This is the first conviction of a doctor in the District of New Hampshire from a joint investigation by the New England Strike Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to court documents, Robert G. Soucy Jr., D.O., 72, of Columbia, New Hampshire, illegally prescribed opioids from his home in Columbia, New Hampshire. Dr. Soucy knew that pharmacies in and around Colebrook, New Hampshire, would not fill his prescriptions for several of his patients. To have the unlawful prescriptions filled, Dr. Soucy specifically instructed a patient to bring his prescriptions to a pharmacy in another location. Dr. Soucy also continued to prescribe opioids to the patient, who the defendant knew had a substance-abuse disorder, without conducting any medical evaluation or testing and after the patient had moved out of New England.
Dr. Soucy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He surrendered his DEA registration and is no longer authorized to prescribe controlled substances.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting United States Attorney Jay McCormack for the District of New Hampshire, Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau and Acting Diversion Program Manager George Lutz of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New England Division, and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The DEA and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Thomas D. Campbell and Danielle H. Sakowski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Anyone needing access to opioid treatment services can contact HHS-OIG’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 24/7 National Helpline for referrals to treatment services at 1-800-662-4359.
Question for written answer E-001823/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Galato Alexandraki (ECR), Emmanouil Fragkos (ECR)
During the Easter period, Greece’s Ministry of Rural Development and Food authorised imports of live sheep from Slovakia and Hungary (as domestic production alone was insufficient to meet demand), despite the fact that active cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been recorded in these countries. Meanwhile, other countries such as Australia, the US and England have imposed strict bans not only on animals but also on animal products from these specific regions.
The ministry’s official position comprised a recommendation to avoid imports and to impose a mandatory quarantine of 21 days on imported animals, without specifying whether and how these measures were complied with in practice.
Can the Commission therefore answer the following:
1.Is there any monitoring evidence to demonstrate that the full implementation of the envisaged 21-day quarantine period and the related veterinary checks on sheep imported from Slovakia and Hungary were ensured?
2.In practice, how does it monitor the correct application of EU rules by Member States in order to prevent outbreaks and protect the health security of European livestock farming?
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Speech
The UK calls on Israel to lift its block on aid: UK statement at the UN Security Council
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The UK called this meeting alongside Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia in response to the alarming warnings that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse than it has ever been.
So we are calling for three urgent things.
First, the UK calls on Israel to lift its block on aid.
The World Food Programme warned us over a week ago that they have no food left.
And IPC data released yesterday shows that the whole of Gaza is at the risk of famine.
Meanwhile, tonnes of food are currently sitting rotting at the border, blocked from reaching people who are starving.
This is cruel and it is inexcusable.
And it risks further deaths that should be avoidable.
Second, the UK will not support any aid mechanism that seeks to deliver political or military objectives or puts vulnerable civilians at risk.
We call on Israel to urgently engage with the UN to ensure a return to delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles.
International law requires Israel to allow the rapid and unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid to all civilians.
Third, the UK reiterates our outrage at the killing of Palestinian Red Crescent workers and the strikes on a UNOPS compound in March.
We are disappointed that Israel has not yet released the final findings of its investigation into the UNOPS incident or taken concrete action to ensure these incidents can never happen again.
President, the release of Edan Alexander yesterday after 17 months of cruel Hamas captivity offers a rare moment of hope.
We must never forget the suffering of those hostages that remain in Gaza and those families awaiting the return of their loved ones’ remains.
It is ceasefire deals that have delivered the release of over 180 hostages and allowed a massive scale-up of aid for desperate Palestinians.
This shows what is possible with political will.
This is why we strongly oppose an expansion of this conflict, as do many hostages’ families.
And it is a ceasefire deal that now offers the best hope of ending the agony of the hostages and their families, alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza, ending Hamas’ control of Gaza and achieving a pathway to a two-state solution.
A New Hampshire doctor pleaded guilty today to unlawfully distributing a controlled substance. This is the first conviction of a doctor in the District of New Hampshire from a joint investigation by the New England Strike Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to court documents, Robert G. Soucy Jr., D.O., 72, of Columbia, New Hampshire, illegally prescribed opioids from his home in Columbia, New Hampshire. Dr. Soucy knew that pharmacies in and around Colebrook, New Hampshire, would not fill his prescriptions for several of his patients. To have the unlawful prescriptions filled, Dr. Soucy specifically instructed a patient to bring his prescriptions to a pharmacy in another location. Dr. Soucy also continued to prescribe opioids to the patient, who the defendant knew had a substance-abuse disorder, without conducting any medical evaluation or testing and after the patient had moved out of New England.
Dr. Soucy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He surrendered his DEA registration and is no longer authorized to prescribe controlled substances.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting United States Attorney Jay McCormack for the District of New Hampshire, Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau and Acting Diversion Program Manager George Lutz of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New England Division, and Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Boston Region made the announcement.
The DEA and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Thomas D. Campbell and Danielle H. Sakowski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Anyone needing access to opioid treatment services can contact HHS-OIG’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 24/7 National Helpline for referrals to treatment services at 1-800-662-4359.
Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool or military tactic: Joint statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza
Joint statement delivered by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, on behalf of Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
We, the UK, Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia, called for today’s urgent meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Gaza.
First, we first want to welcome the release of Edan Alexander yesterday and reiterate our call for all of the remaining hostages who have been cruelly held by Hamas for over 18 months to be released immediately.
Their suffering must end. The Security Council has been consistent and clear on this since the brutal terror attack on 7 October.
Hamas must have no future role in Gaza or be in a position to threaten Israel.
Israel has now fully blocked aid entering Gaza for over two months.
Blocking aid as a “pressure lever” is unacceptable.
And last week, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved plans to expand its military operations in Gaza.
We strongly oppose both these actions, which will add to Palestinian suffering, while doing nothing to serve the long-term interests of peace and security in the region, nor to secure the safe return of the hostages.
Any attempt by Israel to annex land in Gaza would be unacceptable and violate international law.
Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change.
On the humanitarian situation, the World Food Programme have told us they already have no food left. Palestinian civilians, including children, face starvation as a result.
Just yesterday, the IPC released a report warning that Gaza’s entire population is already at critical risk of famine.
Without an urgent lifting of the aid block, more Palestinians are at risk of dying. Deaths that could easily be avoided.
Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool or a military tactic.
We are also deeply concerned at proposals to establish a new mechanism for the delivery of aid, which the UN has said would not meet humanitarian principles.
International law requires Israel to allow and facilitate the safe, rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid and ensure that basic services are provided for all Gazan civilians.
This applies to all armed conflicts around the world.
Gaza is not an exception.
We have two clear messages for the Government of Israel: lift the block on aid entering Gaza now and enable the UN and all humanitarians to save lives.
Any model for distributing humanitarian aid must be independent, impartial and neutral, and in line with international humanitarian law and principles.
We cannot support any model that places political or military objectives above the needs of civilians. Or that undermines the UN and other partners’ ability to operate independently.
We are also outraged by the killing of Palestinian Red Crescent workers and the hit on a UN compound on 19 March. Humanitarian aid workers and UN premises must be protected.
We call on Israel to complete and release the findings of its investigation into the UN compound incident and take concrete action to ensure this can never happen again.
At least 418 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began.
That is at least 418 too many.
We urge Israel to investigate all incidents transparently, to be clear on the steps taken to hold those responsible to account and reinstate an effective deconfliction system.
The only way to end the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis is for an immediate return to a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages, and to urgently advance efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
This is the only way to achieve long-term peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, and we welcome France and Saudi Arabia’s leadership in chairing an international conference on the two-state solution here in New York in June.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2
News story
MH17: International Civil Aviation Organisation Vote
The UK Government has issued a statement following the outcome of the International Civil Aviation Organisation hearing on the case of Flight MH17.
On 12 May 2025, in a historic first, a clear majority of ICAO Council States decided that the Russian Federation breached Article 3bis of the Chicago Convention by using weapons against civil aircraft in flight which led to the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014.
Through this decision, the ICAO Council upholds respect for the Convention on International Civil Aviation and sets out important expectations in relation to the obligations on States to create safer skies and, moreover, that those who violate the rules set out under this Convention will be held to account.
Most importantly, this decision helps secures justice for the families of the 298 people lost as a result of the downing of flight MH17, including 10 UK citizens, on 17 July 2014. It is also a salient reminder of Russia’s reckless and dangerous behaviour and its callous disregard for civilian lives.
This is the first time the ICAO Council has taken a decision on the merits of an ICAO international legal dispute in its 80-year history, and the UK congratulates the clear leadership provided by ICAO to ensure the case was progressed robustly and transparently. The UK remains committed to supporting ICAO in its endeavours to uphold international law and to ensure our skies remain safe and secure.
Farr Primary School has recently received several important accreditations including the UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting School award, sportscotland Gold School Sport Award 2025-2027 and Reading Schools Core and Silver accreditation.
Education Committee Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: “Farr Primary School has recently received three wonderful accreditations, a real testament to their hard work and dedication. I’d like to congratulate the pupils, staff and the wider community for their commitment to reach the highest UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting School award, sportscotland Gold School Sport Award 2025-2027 and Reading Schools Core and Silver accreditation.
“By putting children at the heart of everything we do, we can create a positive and inclusive learning environment where every child feels valued, respected and with the life tools to flourish in many areas.”
Head Teacher at Farr Primary School, Kirsty Guthrie said: “Pupils across the school have leadership roles and as part of this they work with parents and carers and the wider school community to enable positive changes. Pupil voice is valued highly and is at the heart of decision making here at Farr Ps. Rights are embedded across the curriculum and underpin our ethos and vision going forward.”
The Rights Respecting Schools Gold Award issued by the UK Committee for UNICEF is the highest accolade and celebrates schools that have successfully embedded children’s rights into their daily practice.
The Rights Respecting Schools Award encourages schools to create safe and inspiring learning environments where children are respected, their talents are nurtured, and they can thrive. By using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as a guiding framework, schools in Highland have demonstrated a deep commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights.
The sportscotland School Sport Award is a national initiative designed to encourage schools to put young people at the heart of decision making, planning and implementation of extra-curricular school sport. It also encourages schools to self-reflect and continuously improve and recognise and celebrate successful school sport models. The award also encourages sporting links between schools and the communities around them, providing opportunities for young people to progress.
Reading School Award – As well as sustaining the foundational work of Core level, Reading Schools: Silver is based around schools providing additional opportunities to broaden their learners’ experiences, such as engaging with authors, visiting libraries, and bringing in other outside expertise.
Highland Opportunity Investments Limited, (HOIL) has recently provided Seaboard Memorial Hall Limited in Balintore with funding towards their on-going development plans.
HOIL, The Highland Council’s business loan company supports Highland based businesses and encourages applications from all business sectors, including community organisations. Interested businesses benefit from straightforward loan conditions and a tailored offer to support their project.
Seaboard Memorial Hall Limited approached HOIL for a working capital loan to support their growth aspirations. These funds will contribute to the provision of facilities and services to the local community and beyond. Recent initiatives include the completion of three stone entrances at the Seaboard Villages and the future development of The John Ross Visitor website.
Seaboard Memorial Hall Limited is a registered charity, which has been trading since 2001. The charity provides employment for 15 people and re-invests all its profits to provide facilities and services to the local community and visitors to Easter Ross. The Seaboard Centre, also known as the Seaboard Memorial Hall, is a community-run hall based in the Seaboard Villages of Easter Ross. The Centre provides venue, meeting room hire and hot desk workspaces. The Seaboard Café offers homemade baking and lunches. In addition, visitor facilities are available for public use and include a disabled access toilet and shower, washing machine, tumble dryer and hairdryer. There is also a free Chemical Waste Disposal Unit.
Councillor Paul Oldham, Chair of HOIL said: “I welcome this opportunity to help the Seaboard Memorial Hall with their finances. The hall provides invaluable facilities and services to the people of and visitors to the Seaboard Villages of Easter Ross.
“The Community Loan Fund managed by HOIL provides accessible and affordable finance for community organisations across the Highlands and is one of several funds we can use to help projects across the area.”
Maureen Ross, Director of Seaboard Memorial Trust Limited said: “Cashflow for a business is so important and something we take very seriously. Due to the timing of recoverable VAT on a large community project we realised we would be under pressure for several months. Therefore, to keep operations running smoothly we took the proactive move of approaching Highland Opportunity Investments Ltd for a loan which would bridge that period of need easing pressure. The whole process was easy, and people were very helpful throughout.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Dangerous sexual predator has sentence increased following intervention by Solicitor General
A dangerous predator who encouraged another man to rape and sexually assault a baby has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General intervened.
Keith Edun, 48, from Croydon, London, has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP referred his case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The court heard that Edun was a member of a group chat interested in the sexual abuse of babies on the social media platform ‘Kik’.
In March 2020, Edun communicated with another member of the group and in those discussions encouraged the rape and sexual assault of a child. Edun also shared videos of babies being sexually abused.
A separate investigation led to the conviction of a male for offences including the rape of a baby which occurred in March 2020, which led police to Edun.
After police seized Edun’s devices, officers found multiple indecent images of children and that he had deleted the app to hide his online activity.
Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said:
Keith Edun is a dangerous sexual predator who poses a serious risk to children. His crimes were deeply disturbing, and I would like to thank the police for their thorough investigation of this matter.
The court has rightly decided to increase Edun’s sentence which I hope sends a strong message that this government will take robust action to keep dangerous sex offenders off our streets.
On 14 February 2025, Keith Edun was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court to an extended sentence of 21 years and 6 months comprising 13 years and six months custodial term and an eight year extended licence.
On 13 May 2025, Edun’s original sentence was quashed and substituted with an extended sentence of 24 years and 2 months, comprising 16 years and 2 months custodial term and an eight year extended licence, after it was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
Today, Green Party MPs tabled an amendment to the Conservative Party’s Opposition Day motion on the upcoming UK/EU summit. The Greens called on the government to confront the ongoing damage of Brexit and to use the summit on the 19th of May as a key step towards practical re-engagement with the EU.
Ellie Chowns, Green MP for North Herefordshire, said:
“Brexiteers promised freedom but delivered decline. Five years on, British families, farmers and firms are paying the price of isolation. At the summit next week, Ministers must choose progress over pride: we must work to re-join the Customs Union, restore the right to live, work and study across Europe, and rebuild the networks that keep Britain secure and prosperous.”
Speaking in the Chamber, co-leader Carla Denyer MP said:
“Given the dire economic impacts of Brexit, including […] the cost of leaving the EU amounting to £1 million an hour in 2022 according to ONS data, will he agree with me that it makes total economic sense for the UK and for the people within it to use next week’s summit to start discussions with the EU on what the process of re-joining might be?”
Key points of the Green amendment include that this House:
Regrets the £100 billion annual cost in lost output since leaving the EU and that 14% of UK businesses have been forced to stop trading with the EU entirely since Brexit.
Notes reduced food and agricultural exports have led to an annual loss of £2.8 billion and that food inflation would be 8% lower had we stayed in the EU.
Observes that the UK–US agreement fails to compensate for Brexit’s economic damage.
Notes a confident Britain must work closely with Europe to tackle shared challenges—from the climate crisis to the rise of the hard right.
Calls on the Government to use the upcoming UK/EU summit to negotiate re-entry to the Customs Union, restore free movement and youth mobility, and rejoin the Erasmus programme.
Further calls on the government to kick-start talks with the EU on what the formal process to re-join the EU would involve, recognising the consistent majority opinion of the public which reflects a wish to do so.*
The Assistant Minister for the Environment, Constable Mike Jackson, has upheld the refusal of planning permission for the use of land and proposals for new development at Field MN494, La Rue des Buttes, St Martin, for its use as a dog day care centre.
This follows the outcome of two planning appeals submitted by The Barkley Club Ltd.
The appeals related to:
P/2024/0927: the refusal of planning permission for a dog day care centre, including the construction of an new building, car parking, and landscaping
ENF/2024/00016: the refusal of retrospective planning permission to change the use of the field for a dog care and training centre following the service of an enforcement notice requiring the cessation of this use.
Both appeals concerned the entire Field MN494, located to the south of St Martin’s Village.
Following an independent review by a planning inspector, the Assistant Minister accepted the inspector’s recommendations and dismissed both appeals. The enforcement notice has been upheld, with a revised compliance period of nine months granted to enable the cessation of all unauthorised activities on the site.
Key Planning Considerations
The planning inspector identified two principal issues:
The loss of high-quality agricultural land
The potential for noise generated by barking dogs to unreasonably impact the amenities of nearby residents.
While the inspector acknowledged that the facility is professionally managed and meets a demand for dog care services, he concluded that these benefits did not outweigh the clear policy conflicts. The site is identified as good quality agricultural land the loss of which could only be justified in exceptional circumstances under the policies set out in the Island Plan.
Outcome
The appeal against the refusal of planning application P/2024/0927 has been dismissed
The appeal against the refusal of retrospective planning permission to change the use of the field for a dog care and training centre has also been dismissed, and the enforcement notice (ENF/2024/00016) upheld but with a revised nine-month compliance period.
Great Places recently hosted the Leader of Manchester City Council and the council’s Housing Lead on a visit to view the final phase of its £19.4 million flagship development in New Islington.
Council Leader Cllr. Bev Craig and Cllr. Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development were joined by our Chief Executive, Alison Dean and members of the project team on a tour to view progress on Wiremill Court, the final phase of our new flagship low-carbon development of 75 affordable homes at Downley Drive in New Islington.
Delivered in partnership with Rowlinson, and part funded by Homes England and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Brownfield Housing Fund, the second phase will deliver 52 one and two-bed apartments for social rent. The new homes will feature an enhanced building fabric, solar panels and other low-carbon technologies, including air source heat pumps and mechanical ventilation heat recovery.
The project is the latest to be delivered as part of Great Places’ long-standing partnership with Manchester City Council to support the regeneration in the area by bringing forward a range of affordable housing options for those who wish to live close to the city centre.
Wiremill Court is scheduled for completion this autumn.
Commenting on the visit Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:
“Manchester is at its best when we work in collaboration – and it’s the partnerships we have with the city’s housing providers that are helping us build the genuinely affordable homes that our residents need, right across the city.
“Great Places have a clear track record of delivering quality affordable homes in our city centre – not least at the recent Ancoats Dispensary transformation nearby. And so it’s great to see the latest progress at the Wiremill Court development that will bring a further 52 social rent homes to New Islington – and another project that takes us closer to meeting the ambitious target to build at least 10,000 social rent, Council and affordable homes that we set out in our housing strategy three years ago.
“The wider Wiremill Court development offers a mix of social rent and shared ownership properties, which means lots of the homes are as affordable as possible to Manchester people – while the rest offer a real route on to the housing ladder. I look forward to meeting some of the new residents when they move in later this year.”
Alison Dean, our Chief Executive, added:
“We’re delighted to have had the opportunity to show Councillors Craig and White around the final phase of our Downley Drive development in New Islington.
“Wiremill Court exemplifies our commitment to delivering high-quality, affordable homes that incorporate the latest in low-carbon technology.
“Our ongoing partnership with Manchester City Council and Rowlinson Constructions has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life, and we’re proud to be contributing to the ongoing regeneration of this vibrant area. We look forward to welcoming residents to their new homes and continuing our work to create sustainable communities across Greater Manchester.”
Matthew Holloway, Chief Financial Officer at Rowlinson, said:
“It’s great to be sharing progress together on site as we move forward with the construction.
“Once completed later this year, these sustainable homes will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to the affordable housing offer in this popular canal-side location.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
TRA recommends quota caps on steel imports
The TRA has recommended that country-specific caps be imposed on certain categories of steel to help defend the UK’s steel-production industry.
The TRA has recommended that country-specific caps be imposed on certain categories of steel imported to the UK to help defend the country’s steel-production industry.
The caps will come into effect from 1 October 2025 to allow steel importers time to adjust. The TRA has also recommended that carry over quotas be scrapped from 1 July 2025.
In March, the TRA expanded the matters being considered in its tariff rate quota review of the steel safeguard measure to ensure new concerns raised by the UK steel industry were fully considered.
Having examined UK Steel’s data and submissions from a range of interested parties, the TRA has in its Statement of Intended Final Determination (SIFD) proposed that country-specific caps should be imposed on the residual quota in the following categories:
Category 4 (metallic coated sheet): 40%
Category 7 (non-alloy and other alloy quarto plates): 40%
Category 13 (rebar): 40%
The TRA determined that there had been a change in demand for steel, both within the UK and globally, creating significant pressures on the UK steel industry, which warranted the TRQs being varied.
The TRA cited the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Steel Committee, which said in November last year: “The overall trends discussed at the Steel Committee meeting suggest that global excess capacity will increase significantly in 2025 and 2026, which will add further pressure on oversupply conditions and deepen the economic challenges facing the steel industry.”
TRA Chair Nick Baird said:
The TRA has listened to the concerns of the UK’s steel industry and worked at pace to recommend changes to steel import quota allocations to help protect the UK steel industry from the destabilising impact of global overcapacity.
Further variation to TRQ allocation
The TRA has also proposed further changes to the allocation of the TRQs.
Under the TRA’s proposals, the “carry-over” facility, where unused quotas are made available in the following quarter, should be removed; countries with a country-specific quota should no longer have access to the residual quota in the final quarter; country-specific quotas for developing countries excepted from the measure would not be redistributed.
Interested parties can comment by 26 May 2025 via the TRA’s public file. Once the TRA has examined these comments, it will submit its final recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
Background information:
The TRA is the UK’s independent body for investigating and recommending trade remedies.
UK industries concerned about imports have been able to submit applications for a new trade remedy measure since January 2021. These applications are considered by the TRA to see if there are grounds for an investigation.
Tariff rate quotas (TRQs) are part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework. They specify how much of a product can be imported from a country before its imports are subject to higher tariffs.
Under the TRA’s initial proposals published today, a 40% country cap would apply to the residual quotas in Categories 4, 7 and 13. This means that when imports from an individual country accessing the residual quota in these categories exceeds 40% of the residual quota allocation, those imports would become subject to the safeguard measure.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Change of British High Commissioner to Fiji: Kanbar Hossein-Bor
Mr Kanbar Hossein-Bor has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Republic of Fiji.
Mr Kanbar Hossein-Bor has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Republic of Fiji, non-resident British High Commissioner to the Republic of Kiribati and His Majesty’s non-resident Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, in succession to Dr Brian Jones who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Hossein-Bor will take up his appointment during July 2025.
Curriculum Vitae
Full name: Kanbar Hossein-Bor
Year
Role
2021 to 2025
FCDO, Deputy Director Democratic Governance and Media Freedom Co-ordinator
2018 to 2020
Dhaka, Deputy High Commissioner
2015 to 2015
Monrovia, Chargé d’Affaires
2012 to 2015
FCO, Head, Libya Team
2009 to 2012
The Hague, Head of International Tribunals and UK Agent to the International Court of Justice
2006 to 2007
Baghdad, Legal Adviser and Head of Justice and Human Rights Section
BH Live runs Portsmouth Interaction, a health and wellbeing service that refers local people across the city to low-cost fitness and wellbeing activities to support better mental health.
Created with the community in mind, Portsmouth Interaction’s Conservation Group has been running in partnership with Portsmouth City Council since 2017, with countryside officer Peter Roberts playing a lead role.
The free sessions help people with long-term health conditions improve their fitness, self-esteem, and mental health. They also support participants in returning to work, staying physically active, and rejoining everyday life. By spending time outdoors and caring for local green spaces, participants give back to the community and the city’s environment.
Between April 2024 and March 2025 Portsmouth Interaction’s Conservation Group welcomed nearly 400 attendances, with volunteers delivering an average of 11.5 hours of conservation work every week clearing litter, unwanted saplings and weeds in green spaces across Hilsea. Since the group’s inception, more than 450 trees have been planted in the area.
Recent studies from Mind, a mental health charity, found that connecting with nature can improve mood, help with symptoms of mental health conditions, improve physical health, and build confidence and self-esteem*.
Discussing the success of the group, Cllr Matthew Winnington, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care at Portsmouth City Council said:
“Supporting the mental health of our residents is one of our key priorities, and we are committed to making sure they can get support where they need it. The importance of volunteer groups in this area cannot be understated.
“Portsmouth Interaction’s volunteers play an integral role. They help to maintain and improve this much-loved green oasis in the north of the city, alongside being involved in the creation and development of the area that the Forest School uses. Special thanks go to our countryside officer, Peter Roberts, for all his efforts to make this project happen.”
Feedback from the sessions has been extremely positive, with participants sharing;
“I am much more connected to nature and the environment; I have learnt the history of this site which I previously had no knowledge of”.
“Since becoming unwell 6 years ago this project has been essential to my well-being – mental and physical.”
“I feel happier in myself.”
Following its success, BH Live has also partnered with local charity, Enable Ability, to deliver joint Portsmouth Interaction Conservation Group sessions to young adults with additional needs to help build confidence, support personal development, and socialise.
On behalf of BH Live, Kerry Morgan, Portsmouth Interaction’s Manager, shared;
“It’s fantastic to see these sessions have been so well received by participants, as well as residents and Portsmouth City Council. It’s brilliant that we can extend our reach to work with other local groups too and encourage more people of all ages to get active, give back to the community, and spend time with others in some of Portsmouth’s beautiful green spaces.”
Residents interested in getting involved can find out more about Portsmouth Interaction at bhliveactive.org.uk/health-and-wellbeing-activities.
More information about BH Live can be found at bhlive.org.uk.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
Marshall Medal awarded to Dr John Jumper
Prestigious Marshall Medal awarded to Dr John Jumper by the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission
Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty MP (left), Dr John Jumper (centre), and MACC Chair John Raine CMG OBE (right)
The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission has announced 12 May that it has awarded a prestigious Marshall Medal to Dr John Jumper – a 2007 Marshall Scholar, distinguished scientist at Google DeepMind and co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry – on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Marshall Scholarship programme.
The Marshall Medal is awarded on significant anniversaries of the Marshall Scholarship programme and the Marshall Plan to people whose outstanding achievements and contributions to British-American understanding, distinguished role in public life, or creative energy, reflect the legacy of former US Army General and Secretary of State George C. Marshall – the architect of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Scholarship programme was established by the British Government in enduring gratitude for the post-war economic aid provided by the United States under his leadership. Marshall Scholarships are awarded each year to distinguished young Americans who show exceptional promise as future scholars, leaders and ambassadors for UK-US understanding, to undertake postgraduate study at any UK university.
Upon making this award the Marshall Commission released its citation:
As a trailblazing scientist whose research has advanced the frontiers of human understanding in medicine, biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence, and whose transatlantic career and commitments exemplify the aims and values of the Marshall Scholarship programme in developing connections between the United Kingdom and the United States across all fields of endeavour; supporting our mutual values, security and economic vitality; and strengthening the special relationship between our two nations, the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission is delighted to award a Marshall Medal to Dr John Jumper.
“John Jumper’s journey from Marshall Scholar at Cambridge to distinguished scientist at Google DeepMind – returning to the UK to undertake Nobel prize-winning research – demonstrates the enduring transatlantic connections and collaboration the Marshall Scholarship programme helps to forge,” said John Raine CMG OBE, Chair of the Marshall Commission. “It is with immense pleasure that we recognise his achievements with the Marshall Medal.”
The Medal was presented at an event celebrating departing Marshall Scholars who have completed their degrees. The Commissioners were also delighted to host the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty MP, who congratulated Dr Jumper and the departing Scholars.
In his remarks, Dr Jumper thanked the Commission and encouraged the students to maximise their impact by focusing on the problems of tomorrow rather than replicating the approaches of the past, but also to recognise that progress is not always linear.
Only 23 Marshall Medals have been awarded in the programme’s 70-year history. Past awardees include US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, former US Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, former CIA Director Bill Burns, and most recently, Dr Lisa Cook – Governor of the US Federal Reserve, among others. A full list of recipients is available on the Commission’s website: https://www.marshallscholarship.org/about/the-marshall-medal
About the Marshall Scholarship
Named for US Army General and Secretary of State George C. Marshall, the Marshall Scholarship programme began in 1953 as a gesture of gratitude to the people of the United States for the post-World War II economic assistance the UK received under the Marshall Plan. Since that time, it has remained uniquely positioned among international scholarships for its prestige and scope: offering talented young Americans the chance to study any academic subject at UK universities of their choice for up to three years. This has given rise to an unprecedented breadth of expertise in almost every academic field, producing numerous university presidents, six Pulitzer Prize winners, two Nobel Laureates, fourteen MacArthur Fellows, two-academy-Award nominees, two US Supreme Court Justices and a NASA Astronaut.
With over 2,200 scholarships awarded to date, Marshall Scholars are leading the conversation and direction of some of the most critical issues of our time.
Notable winners of the Marshall Scholarship include:
Supreme Court Associate Justices Stephen Breyer (ret.) and Neil Gorsuch
William Burns, former Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
Pulitzer Prize Winners Anne Applebaum, Tom Friedman, Jeffrey Gettleman, Sarah Stillman and Dan Yergin
Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry Dr. John Jumper (2024) and Prof. Roger Tsien (2008).
Dr. Dan Barouch, Leading COVID-19 vaccine researcher and William Bosworth Castle Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Kurt Campbell, former Deputy Secretary of State, United States Department of State.
Reid Hoffman, Philanthropist and founder of social networking platform LinkedIn
Lisa Cook, Economist and currently the first African-American woman and first person of colour to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Rep. Gabe Amo, Congressman representing Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District
Kris Kobach, Attorney General of the State of Kansas
Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State for the State of Michigan
Col. Anne McClain, NASA Astronaut and U.S. Army Colonel who recently commanded NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station.
Dr. Ray Dolby, Founder of Dolby Laboratories and 1997 winner of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Rebecca F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War book trilogy
For media inquiries, interview requests or further quotes about the Marshall Medal award or Marshall Scholarship programme, please contact Stephanie Berke at stephanie.berke@marshallscholarship.org
“We welcome the certainty that this short-term lease extension provides for Oxford United.
It allows the Club to continue playing at the Kassam Stadium for up to two further seasons as they progress their plans for a new stadium.
“However, it is regrettable that such an arrangement is necessary. Throughout the planning process for a new stadium at The Triangle, north of Oxford, it has been consistently stated that the Kassam Stadium cannot provide a long-term home for the Club.
“This joint agreement reinforces that position and offers vital clarity for supporters and stakeholders alike. It confirms the temporary nature of the Club’s current arrangements and underscores the importance of delivering a new, sustainable home that meets the long-term needs of Oxford United and the wider community.
“With the existing license agreement due to expire in June 2026, this extension offers some security, but it also highlights the urgency of moving forward with the proposed stadium plans.” Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Child sex abusers sentences increased following intervention by Solicitor General
Three child sex abusers have had their sentences increased for historic offences after the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP intervened.
Three men who raped a vulnerable teenager in the 1990s have had their sentences increased by a total of eight years, after the Solicitor General referred the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The court heard that the victim moved to Keighley, Yorkshire, in the early 1990s when she was a teenager, where she met Ibrar Hussain (47) and brothers Imtiaz (64) and Fayaz Ahmed (45).
The victim was vulnerable and was supplied with money, drugs and alcohol in return for sex. She was taken to various places where she was raped over several years, including by Hussain and the Ahmed brothers.
Ibrar Hussain and Fayaz Ahmed were 18 and 17 respectively when they carried out their offences, while Imtiaz Ahmed was in his 30s.
Many of the offences took place in the flats above the brothers’ family’s grocery shop.
In a Victim Impact Statement read to the court, the victim said that almost 30 years after the abuse, she still suffered flashbacks and the trauma left her unable to trust people, including the services there to protect her.
The court also learnt that Ibrar Hussain had prior drug convictions, while Fayaz Ahmed had been convicted of conspiracy to defraud and driving offences.
The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said:
This case involved the shocking and hideous abuse of a vulnerable teenager by these three sexual predators.
I referred these sentences to Court of Appeal because in my view they were unduly lenient.
I attended court today for the hearing and I very much welcome the Court of Appeal’s significant increases to these sentences.
On 17 January 2025, Ibrar Hussain was sentenced to six years and six months for two counts of rape, Imtiaz Ahmed was sentenced to nine years for one count of rape, and Fayaz Ahmed was sentenced to seven years and six months for two counts of rape.
On 13 May 2025, Hussain’s sentence was increased to 10 years, Imtiaz Ahmed’s to 11 years, and Fayaz Ahmed’s was increased to 10 years after their sentences were referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Meet the women helping ensure that digital mental health technologies are safe, effective and developed considering the needs of the people who use them
Mental health apps are everywhere, offering everything from mood tracking to therapy. But with so many options, how can people tell what these tools actually do?
Holly Coole and Grace Gatera. Credit: MHRA
How do you know that mental health and wellness app on your phone actually works, is safe for you to use and has been developed in partnership with people who have real lived experience of mental health issues? And, how are such technologies being incorporated into our healthcare system to ease burden on staff and to ensure that interventions are available to patients when they need them?
This Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May), meet two women from different backgrounds, united in their own lived experience of mental health issues, who are working together to ensure the digital mental health technologies (DMHT) – including the use of AI – that are being developed to support the growing need within our healthcare system are effective, safe and take into account the needs of those who use them.
The women at the frontline of helping make digital tools safer and shaping the future of mental health care
Holly Coole, registered mental health nurse and senior manager for digital mental health at the MHRA, leads on a digital mental health project in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by Wellcome, to improve access to safe, effective digital mental health technologies. This project will improve outcomes for people with mental health conditions by ensuring that both medical professionals and the public have safe and effective access to DMHTs.
Not only does Holly bring a unique perspective, having worked directly with patients before moving into regulation, but she also has her own lived experience of an eating disorder and post-natal depression. Holly is currently working to provide clarity to the public and healthcare professionals around the key considerations for the regulation and evaluation of DMHTs.
Grace Gatera is a dedicated mental health lived experience advocate living in Kigali Rwanda. As someone who has worked globally in lived experience specifically in mental health science, Grace is passionate about the crucial role of vulnerable and marginalized voices, including young people in shaping and being equal partners in the future of Mental Health. Grace acts as a lived experience advisor to the same project that Holly leads.
Grace’s passion is fuelled by her own experience of living through the 1994 atrocities that were committed in Rwanda, with almost one tenth of the country’s population killed – having to flee to safety in Uganda with her family at a very young age.
Grace strongly believes in lived experience being central to mental health science and practice, youth access to specialised and quality mental health care and medication, as well as their involvement in high level policy and decision making involving mental health.
How widely these technologies are used
There are upwards of 10,000 digital health technologies available for use – for example, on platforms such as the App Store and Google Play as well technologies that may be used in healthcare services by patients themselves, clinicians or a combination of both – but these include a huge range of products, including tools that don’t meet the criteria or threshold for regulation in the UK. In short, there are a huge range of products out there.
These technologies are helping ease the burden on healthcare staff and ensuring mental health interventions are available to patients when they need them
There is an increasing reliance on technology to be able to support interventions and all sorts of processes across the healthcare system – to try and ease workload burden on healthcare staff, make sure interventions are available to people when they need them, make sure that waiting lists provision are adequately resourced, and so that there’s support for people, even at the point of referral – where clinicians are using assessment and triage tools for entry into services.
There are lots of different ways in which the technology can be used in our healthcare system – for example:
Assessment and triage tools for clinicians at the point of referral to a service
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) self-help apps and diaries
Virtual reality software for exposure therapy
Diaries for mood tracking over time and enabling people to monitor their results
As demand in our health service for mental health and wellness support grows, we will see increasing use of these technologies.
The importance of regulating these technologies and the role of the MHRA
The regulation of DMHT is a growing public issue due to the rapid increase in the availability of mental health apps and other online tools. Many people rely on various DMHT tools to manage their symptoms, sometimes without professional support, but may not be aware of their effectiveness, risks, or the safeguards in place.
These tools also offer real potential to help manage rising demand for mental health services – supporting mental health professionals and health systems at large, but their safe and effective use depends on clear regulatory understanding.
The MHRA is dedicated to improving outcomes for people with mental health conditions by enabling access to safe and effective digital mental health technologies. Our work on enabling regulation in digital mental health technology is part of the way we are putting the UK at the forefront of innovation in medical devices — our aim is to create smarter and safer technologies to benefit patients and the NHS
The importance of ensuring these technologies are designed with involvement from people with lived experience
Lived experience is unique, person-centred knowledge, insight and expertise. It brings important – and often overlooked – perspectives to the field of mental health.
As a Lived Experience Advisor, with direct experience of trauma from years spent living under the shadow of mental illness after surviving the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Grace brings a first-hand understanding of mental health problems and knowledge of collective and systemic issues. This includes understanding how these issues impact people, the challenges with current interventions, and priorities for improving them. Her experience and knowledge is critical for finding ways to address mental health challenges – including through digital solutions.
That’s why involving lived experience in the development of digital mental health technologies is more than good practice – it’s essential in shaping the future of mental health and for delivering interventions that genuinely help the people who need them.
What the public should look out for when using these technologies
We would advise, when deciding if they want to use a particular digital mental health technology, that people look for references to whether the product has been through rigorous testing or clinical trials to make sure it’s appropriate for its intended use and the population that it’s designed to serve and is fundamentally safe and effective for use. There may also be references to how the product has been developed.
We would also advise that, with regards to medical devices and specifically in this context software as medical device (SaMD), that the public look for a CE or a UKCA accreditation to state that the technology complies with those particular regulatory standards. (This is provided that this particular tool meets the criteria or threshold for regulation in the UK, as they are not all regulated by us.)
There are also all the other markers of a good digital product – such as cybersecurity, data protection and privacy policies that all need to be in place.
UK Government showing ‘lack of policy coherence’ and ‘troubling disregard of financial difficulties faced by universities’,says Ben Lake MP
Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion Preseli, Ben Lake, has warned that the UK Government’s proposed changes to the graduate visa route and 6% levy on university income from international student fees could severely harm universities across Wales and the UK, calling the plans “reckless” and a “blow to Wales and the UK’s economic prospects”.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Lake challenged the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, on the financial implications of the policy, highlighting that the Migration Advisory Committee had previously warned that restricting the graduate visa route could place universities at financial risk under the current funding model.
In response, the Home Secretary confirmed that international graduates will still be able to stay in the UK for 18 months post-graduation, but would need to secure graduate-level jobs to remain longer under the skilled worker visa.
However, Mr Lake said the response “reveals a lack of coherence” in government policy and fails to acknowledge the vital role that international students and staff play in sustaining higher education.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Ben Lake MP said:
“The Home Secretary will be aware of the funding crisis that affects many of the UK’s universities. Last year, when the Migration Advisory Committee reviewed the graduate visa route, it concluded that it should be retained, stating, ‘Under the current higher education funding model, closure or additional restrictions could put many universities at financial risk.’
“What is the Home Secretary’s assessment of the impact that these changes will have on the financial sustainability of our universities?”
The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP responded:
“Where universities are already meeting high standards of compliance, as most of them are, that is very welcome, but those that do not currently meet them will need to raise their compliance standards to ensure that we have a proper, robust system. The graduate visa will enable people to stay on for the unrestricted 18 months, but if they want to stay longer they will need to be contributing in graduate jobs. Too often people have stayed without doing that, although they have degrees and should therefore be obtaining graduate jobs, which they can also do through the skilled worker visa.”
Ben Lake MP added:
“The Home Secretary’s response reveals a lack of coherence in UK Government policy on higher education, and a troubling disregard of the financial difficulties so many universities are facing. The contribution that international students – and staff – make to higher education should not be overlooked, and for many universities in Wales the income raised from the fees levied on international students help sustain course provision for UK-domiciled students.
“The UK Government would do well to remember that universities are crucial if its core pledge of driving economic growth is to be met, not only in driving research and innovation, but also to help train a workforce equipped with the skills to meet the challenges of the future. It is regrettable that the UK Government appears to overlook this contribution, and the fact that for every £1 invested in higher education, £13 is returned to the wider economy.
“Reducing the graduate visa route and imposing a 6% levy on university income from international student fees without first addressing the broken funding model is a reckless move. It will result in job losses, course closures, and would deal yet another self-inflicted blow to Wales and the UK’s economic prospects. The UK Government should reconsider its approach.”
Kenmure Street, not Downing Street. Solidarity and support over division.
More in External Affairs
On the anniversary of the Kenmure Street protest in Glasgow, we need to take a stand against Westminster’s divisive politics, says Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie.
Four years ago, hundreds of people united on a Glasgow South Side street in peaceful protest that resulted in two men being freed from the Immigration Enforcement van they were detained in. It was one of the most prominent times in recent history that communities across Glasgow banded together in solidarity to challenge the cruel practice of dawn raids by the UK Home Office.
The Scottish Greens are calling for the powers of immigration to be devolved to Scotland. Currently Westminster controls immigration policies without regard to the views of the devolved nations.
Calls for solidarity and empathy come from Mr Harvie just one day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave a speech on immigration reform which has been sharply criticised, including by members of his own party.
Mr Harvie said:
“Now more than ever before we need to stand up and take action to support people living in Scotland. For decades, Scotland’s people and its governments have sought a more open and welcoming approach to immigration.
“What we saw on Kenmure Street four years ago was a united community; peacefully rallying together to protect and defend their neighbours from detention by the UK Home Office. Four years later, Keir Starmer’s speech on immigration reform is a vilification of people entering the UK to live, work, and sometimes seek refuge here, and it sets a dangerous political tone that we should never echo here in Scotland.
“With the rise of reactionary, far-right political views, and parties like Reform that only seek to sow division and hatred, we must support those most at risk of being scapegoated.
“The Home Office operations happening within Scotland are based on Westminster’s decisions – cruel decisions that I believe the vast majority of people in Scotland rightfully object to, including the Scottish Greens.
“As a self-governing, independent country, we would hold the keys to creating a fairer, better Scotland for everyone, but we shouldn’t have to wait. We should be able to protect the human rights of people living in Scotland now.
“We can be the Scotland of Kenmure Street, not Downing Street.
“We will always stand up for people living in Scotland, no matter if they are born here or are choosing to build their lives in our country. We can and should always strive to be a welcoming, supportive nation that values the rich history and knowledge that migrants bring.”
Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland
Statement by TUV MLA Timothy Gaston:
“I am deeply disappointed but not surprised by the outcome of the second stage of the Bill, which paves the way for a substantial pay increase for MLAs.
“In an effort to inject accountability and transparency into the process, I tabled several amendments which would have:
• Required the independent panel to take into account the fact that MLAs surrendered control of over 300 areas of law to Brussels through the vote on the Protocol;
• Removed the obligation to benchmark MLA salaries against those of legislators in the Republic of Ireland as it is a foreign country;
• Deferred any pay rise until the powers taken by the EU under the Protocol were restored to this Assembly and to Westminster and
• Introduced a statutory duty for the Commission to consult the public on any Bill affecting MLA pay, pensions, or gratuities.
“Regrettably, these proposals were dismissed. Amendments intended to strengthen oversight of Stormont’s expenses regime and bring it into line with Westminster standards were not even permitted onto the order paper.
“Some may attempt to justify these developments by comparing them to procedures in London. If so, will those same voices now advocate for legislation introducing Westminster-style penalties, including imprisonment, for fraudulent claims? Unsurprisingly, no such assurances were offered.
“In light of the Michael McMonagle scandal, the argument for serious reform is compelling — unless, it seems, one is an MLA primarily concerned with securing a pay increase.
“It is particularly troubling that the Assembly chose to vote down an amendment that would have required public consultation on future changes to MLA pay and benefits. Public consultation is a fundamental element of the legislative process. Yet in this case, the Bill was introduced without public consultation — an approach that would not be tolerated for Executive or Private Members’ Bills.
“This opaque method of operation damages the Assembly’s credibility and undermines public confidence.
“Indeed, I would argue that there is a greater public interest in consulting on matters such as MLA remuneration than on many other legislative issues. It is wholly inadequate for the Commission to conduct internal deliberations in private, only to unveil a completed Bill once it reaches its first stage.
“My amendment sought to address this by promoting transparency and inviting broader input from both MLAs and the public. Even this modest reform was rejected.
“During today’s debate, I made the following comments about my amendments linking the pay rise to the Protocol:
“Only when this Assembly sees the return of powers it’s surrendered to Brussels – to this House and to Westminster – will the provisions of this Bill come into effect.
“I say this to fellow unionist Members: this is your opportunity to put the pressure on the pro-protocol parties in the House, prove the TUV wrong and show that, when we claim that this place is a racket where people are just interested in their pay packet, we are mistaken.
“Amendment No 13 would stop any pay rise for MLAs while the protocol remains, but do not stop there. Make it clear that, unless the amendment is built into the Bill, you will refuse to support it. That is my challenge to unionism in the House. Put some pressure on the nationalist and republican alliance, which ripped up the Belfast Agreement to impose the protocol on us.”
“Sadly, the Assembly failed to rise to that challenge.”
More than two decades ago, Rhodri Morgan, then first minister of Wales, put “clear red water” between Welsh Labour and the UK party. It’s a phrase that became one of the most enduring cliches in Welsh politics.
Now, his successor Eluned Morgan is trying to chart a fresh course with a new slogan: “the red Welsh way”. In a recent speech, Morgan set out Welsh Labour’s core values ahead of the 2026 Senedd (Welsh parliament) election: “Solidarity, equality, sustainability and justice.” These, she argued, are progressive principles rooted in Wales’ political traditions.
But the speech also had a clear strategic purpose: to reassert Welsh Labour’s distinct identity at a time when its dominance in devolved politics is under pressure.
Morgan pledged to stand up for Wales whenever she believed it was being neglected by Westminster or when UK government policies disproportionately harmed the nation. Deploying nationalistic language, while insisting she is not a nationalist, Morgan invoked a history of exploitation in Wales and vowed that such injustices would not be tolerated under Welsh Labour’s watch.
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It was also a notable shift in rhetoric. During the 2024 general election, Welsh Labour leaned heavily on the idea of “two governments at both ends of the M4” working together. Morgan’s speech also represents her most forthright attempt yet to replenish the red waters between the Welsh government and Keir Starmer’s leadership, and her most passionate defence of Welsh Labour as a distinct entity.
Poll pressure
On the very same day, a new poll placed Welsh Labour in third place, behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. The polling comes with the familiar caveats. It is only one poll, a lot can change in the course of a year and it would be unwise to underestimate the strength of Welsh Labour’s electoral machine.
Nevertheless, while the Senedd is expanding from 60 to 96 members, Welsh Labour’s presence within it is at risk of shrinking.
Morgan’s speech implicitly recognises that the Labour brand is tainted. With the UK government chasing Reform UK’s voter base in light of recent election results, the red Welsh way feels like an effort to reclaim ground from Plaid Cymru, to which Welsh Labour appears to be losing support, particularly from left-leaning and Welsh-identifying voters.
Morgan will hope that formulating a new image (or, rather, resurrecting an old one) can revive the party’s fortunes and allow it to continue its over 100 years dominance of Welsh politics.
There is logic to this strategy. I have argued before that Welsh Labour thrives when it articulates a clear, values-driven Welsh identity. But there are now formidable obstacles in Morgan’s path.
First, trying to position a party that has been in government for 26 years as an insurgent force is challenging. The clear red water rhetoric, rooted in progressive principles, has not always been matched in reality.
Strained public services and entrenched poverty in Wales undermine Welsh Labour’s claims to achieving social justice. While constitutional constraints and funding limitations from Westminster are real, slogans alone do not shield people from hardship.
Ultimately, after years of austerity, people in Wales are looking for a party that will offer them hope of a brighter future. Instead of slogans, Welsh Labour will need to show the electorate that it is making a tangible difference to people’s lives. As Morgan herself insisted in the speech: “Less chat, and more do.”
Second, Morgan faces a further challenge from an emboldened Welsh parliamentary Labour party (PLP). A recent Politico article documents the various ways in which the central Labour party is attempting to have a greater say in Welsh Labour’s affairs, from manifesto writing to candidate selection. One Labour figure was quoted as stating: “The Welsh PLP hate the Senedd group.”
Among these challenges, Welsh Labour will struggle with its claim to be standing up for Wales when judged against outcomes. Repeated failures to secure rail funding, further devolution and even consideration for the effects of policy changes on Wales, suggest that Welsh Labour’s voice in Westminster still struggles to carry weight. That’s even under a Labour-led UK government.
In truth, the red Welsh way reflects a party caught in a strategic bind. It’s eager to differentiate itself, but hamstrung by its own long-term incumbency, internal divisions and limited power.
As the 2026 Senedd election draws closer, Welsh Labour will throw everything at shifting the narrative. But as things stand, the clear red water that once symbolised distance from Westminster has become muddied.
Nye Davies does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
I recently had a medical appointment and explained that I’m autistic. It affects how I communicate and understand information, and sometimes I’m misinterpreted as being rude. The person nodded and replied: “Well, everyone’s a little bit autistic.” They then shared something they struggle with, sometimes, when they haven’t had enough sleep.
It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that line, and I doubt it’ll be the last. It happens often – not only in doctors’ surgeries but in social situations, on social media and many other places besides. And it’s not just me. Online spaces are full of autistic adults and the parents of autistic children expressing frustration at this phrase.
So where does the idea come from, that autistic traits are merely universal human behaviour, just to an exaggerated degree in autistic people?
To answer that, we need to understand what autism is. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference. You’re either born autistic, or you’re not. It’s not something you develop over time.
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Historically, autism has been underdiagnosed among many groups of people, although least affecting white boys. That isn’t because other people are less likely to be autistic.
It’s because diagnostic practices and clinical assumptions have been based on a narrow idea of what autism “looks like”. It fails to recognise that many autistic people – but especially girls and women – “mask” their autism. This means they suppress their natural autistic behaviour to reduce the chance of a negative response from those around them. Fortunately recognition of masking is changing, albeit slowly.
Challenges
The challenges an autistic person faces, and the distress we may experience, arise from our interactions with other people or the environment around us as a result of our neurological differences.
Autism affects how we experience the world, how we communicate and how we process sensory information. Communication can be challenging for us, especially in settings where social expectations aren’t clearly defined.
We may also struggle with certain lights, sounds or textures. These experiences can fluctuate depending on how many difficult things have already happened to us that day, our hormone levels, and consequently how overwhelmed we already are.
Autistic people often find comfort in familiarity and routine, and can become overwhelmed by unexpected change. To manage that, many autistic people “stim”, which is short for self-stimulatory behaviour, and can include doing things like rocking or tapping, or fidgeting with an object. These repetitive movements can help calm us down or regulate sensory overload.
When I teach about autism, I sometimes ask students to think about how they react to sensory discomfort or disruption. There’s usually a long list of things. For instance, being irritated by roadworks, bothered by scratchy clothes or stressed out by a house move. These are all human traits. But they don’t mean you’re autistic.
Life is often stressful, so cortisol levels rise accordingly. That doesn’t mean you’re autistic. It means your nervous system is working as it should. Likewise, noticing loud noises or being anxious about change is perfectly normal. But it doesn’t mean your brain is wired the same way as someone who is autistic.
There are clear differences between autistic and non-autistic people, not just in the kinds of challenges they experience, but in how often and how intensely those challenges occur. Research shows that autistic people have significantly higher rates of sensory sensitivity, communication differences, repetitive behaviour and social difficulties than non-autistic people. For most autistic people, these aren’t things that happen once in a while. They are constant features of life.
If you think this sounds like you, there is a chance that you could be autistic. While we expect around 3% of people to be autistic, only around 1% of adults are diagnosed.
So, when someone says “everyone is a little bit autistic”, they’re relying on a myth that flattens those differences. It suggests a spectrum from “not autistic” to “very autistic”, with everyone fitting somewhere on that line.
That’s understandable, because we don’t have a biological test for autism, to give a clear yes or no answer. Instead, questionnaires are often used to initially assess the likelihood of being autistic. But you can’t be a “little bit” autistic.
The term “autism spectrum disorder” was first used in 1994 in diagnostic manuals, to bring together people diagnosed with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, a contentious name linked to Nazi genocide.
Many autism researchers argue that we shouldn’t be dividing autistic people into different groups, as support needs can vary from day to day. Others dislike the term “autism spectrum” because it can be misleading. It’s too often misunderstood as a fixed linear scale. In reality, autism is multidimensional. Different people have different combinations of strengths, needs and experiences. Two autistic people may have little in common apart from their diagnosis.
The “everyone’s a bit autistic” myth can be actively harmful. It’s often used to dismiss the challenges we face or to argue that autistic people don’t really need support. It also contributes to a culture where autism becomes the punchline. Non-autistic people do something like parking in the same space each day, but attribute it to being “a little bit autistic”.
For decades, autistic people weren’t given a platform to share our experiences. The stories told about us, especially in the media, were often created by non-autistic people, and were full of stereotypes. That’s starting to change, but those outdated ideas persist.
Use empathy
So, the next time an autistic person tells you what they’re struggling with, please don’t respond by comparing it to your own mild discomfort. Try empathising instead: “I’m sorry” or “that sounds really hard”. And if you can, ask if there’s anything you could do to help. Even small accommodations can make a big difference to someone’s comfort and wellbeing.
Because no, not everyone is “a little bit autistic”. And saying that doesn’t help us – it makes it harder for us to be seen, heard and supported.
Aimee Grant receives funding from the Wellcome Trust and UKRI. She is a non-executive director of Disability Wales.
One big talking point to emerge from the UK government’s recently announced plans to reform the immigration system was the proposal to end recruitment of social care workers from overseas. Anyone who has experienced the sector recently will know that it is hugely dependent on workers from abroad. So the move – laid out in a new white paper which went further than many expected – will have huge implications.
For those international workers already sponsored to work in the sector, a transition period will allow them to extend their visa until 2028. Other overseas nationals already in the UK with the right to work will be able to switch to a job in social care.
Critics have argued for overhauling the visa system that allows employers to recruit care workers from overseas amid evidence of widespread and systemic exploitation of workers. But the plan to completely axe the health and care visa, without any proposed alternative, was unexpected.
In fact, a 2024 strategy for adult social care, published by industry body Skills for Care, acknowledged that international workers are “crucial” for the sector. It also recommended that the UK’s immigration policy recognise the sector’s need to recruit care workers from abroad.
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The government’s decision to make reducing net migration the central plank of its immigration policy explains its apparent disregard of the care sector’s recommendation. This is based on the belief, contradicted by research, that becoming even tougher on migration will fight off the electoral threat posed by the rightwing Reform party.
In fact, the share of net migration taken up by the care worker visa has been falling. This is not least because of the previous government’s decision to ban those on the visa from bringing their dependants.
Care work was categorised as “low-skilled” work by the previous Conservative government when it introduced its new global points-based immigration system in January 2021. This categorisation made the sector particularly vulnerable in the context of the white paper’s preference for migration into “higher-skilled” jobs because of its purported economic benefits.
This approach privileges particular sectors over others, leaving the care sector facing huge labour gaps. Yet, in contrast to the white paper’s position, evidence shows that 54% of people in the UK favour making it easier for people to come to the UK to do care work, implying that the public recognise the value of this sector.
In contrast, while only 27% favour making it easier for people to come to work in the financial sector, the white paper proposes to give preferential treatment to this sector.
The government’s vision is that “British workers” will replace migrants in the care sector. The white paper, however, presents no evidence that migrant workers have been displacing “British workers” in the industry. Instead, it acknowledges that low rates of domestic recruitment and retention are “largely driven by historic levels of poor pay and poor terms and conditions”.
This is a systemic issue. Despite care being crucial to human survival and society’s functioning, the work that it requires is either unpaid or hugely underpaid.
Labour unions and research evidence highlight the the key barriers to recruitment and retention: low rates of pay in the sector, the prevalence of zero-hours contracts (21% in March 2024), the limited opportunities for training and career progression, as well as the low status of care work.
The government has defended its white paper by pointing to its plans to address these recruitment and retention challenges, most notably through measures like the fair pay agreement, the employment rights bill and the care workforce pathway, which aim to improve pay and conditions in the sector. But Care England has said these initiatives are “years away from delivery” and underfunded.
The proposed fair pay agreement, through which the government hopes to tackle the staffing crisis in social care, would give care workers stronger collective bargaining powers and provide stricter enforcement of agreements on pay, terms and conditions. The government’s impact assessment suggests, however, that the agreement will increase costs to councils, as well as those funding their own care. Higher costs to councils would need to be mitigated by increased investment from central government.
Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, and Christina McAnea, general secretary of trade union Unison, have said that the white paper’s depiction of care work as “low-skilled” adds to its low social status. It also runs contrary to the professionalisation agenda set out in the government-endorsed care workforce pathway. And, of course, it undermines efforts to attract “British workers” into the sector.
A crisis in staffing
In the meantime, the latest data from industry body Skills for Care show that the sector has 131,000 vacancies in England alone. Its vacancy rate at 8.3% is higher than the 6.9% for the NHS, and significantly higher than the 2.8% for the economy as a whole.
The same data source estimates that 540,000 new social care posts will be needed by 2040 to meet rising demand, as more people live longer with major illnesses and disabilities. Relatives are put under immense pressure to fill these care gaps, without the pay or resources to do so.
Without the international care workers who have helped the social care sector keep its head above water since Brexit, the prospects look unimaginably bleak for the health and wellbeing of workers in the sector. And this is before we consider the impact on some of society’s most vulnerable people who need their care and support, as well as their families and kin.
Majella Kilkey receives funding from UKRI-ESRC.
Jayanthi T. Lingham receives funding from the Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF).
Composite image by The Conversation. Images courtesy of TruthSocial/@realDonaldTrump and Wikimedia Commons
The US presidency and the papacy came together on May 3 when Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photograph of himself dressed as the pope to Truth Social. The image was then shared by the White House’s accounts.
Seated in an ornate (Mar-a-Lago-style) golden chair, he was wearing a white cassock and a bishop’s hat, with his right forefinger raised.
Trump has since told reporters he “had nothing to do with it […] somebody did it in fun”.
This image of “Pope Donald I” is of historical significance, for reasons of which, no doubt, the White House and Trump were blissfully unaware. It is the first ever image to combine the two most important understandings of the figure of the Antichrist in Western thought: on the one hand, that of the pope, and on the other, that of the authoritarian, despotic world emperor.
On April 22, the day after Pope Francis’ death, Trump declared “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice”. On April 28, Trump told The Atlantic “I run the country and the world”.
So, both pope and world emperor.
The Imperial Antichrist
In the New Testament, the First Letter of John says, before Christ came again, the Antichrist will appear: the most conspicuous sign the end of the world was near.
The Antichrist would be the archetypal evil human being who would persecute the Christian faithful. He would be finally defeated by the forces of good. As Sir Isaac Newton suggested, “searching the Prophecies which [God] hath given us to know Antichrist by” is a Christian obligation.
The first life of the Antichrist was written by a Benedictine monk, Adso of Montier-en-der, around 1,100 years ago. According to Adso, the Antichrist would be a tyrannical evil king who would corrupt all those around him with gold and silver. He would be brought up in all forms of wickedness. Evil spirits would be his instructors and his constant companions.
The Antichrist, left, is depicted as a king, in this image from a 12th century manuscript. Wikimedia Commons
Seeking his own glory, as Adso put it, this king “will call himself Almighty God”.
The Antichrist was opposite to everything Christ-like. According to the Christian tradition, Christ was fully human yet absolutely “sin free”. The Antichrist too was fully human, but completely “sin full”. The Antichrist was not so much a supernatural being who became flesh, as a human being who became fully demonised.
Influenced by Christian stories of the Antichrist, Islam and Judaism constructed their own Antichrists – al-Dajjal, the Antichrist of the Muslims, and Armilus, the Antichrist of the Jews. Both al-Dajjal and Armilus are king-like messiahs.
Over the centuries, many world leaders have been labelled “the Antichrist” – the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian were Antichrist figures, and the French emperor Napoleon was named the Antichrist in his own time.
In the year 1190, King Richard I of England, on his way to the Holy Land, was informed by the Italian theologian Joachim of Fiore (c.1135–1202) the next pope would be the Antichrist.
In the history of the Antichrist, this was a momentous occasion. From this time on, the tyrannical Antichrist outside of the Church would be juxtaposed with the papal deceiver within it.
That the Catholic pope was the Antichrist was the common reading of the pope in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
Martin Luther (1483–1546), the founder of the Protestant revolution, declared the pope “is the true […] Antichrist who has raised himself over and set himself against Christ”.
Just as all Christians would not worship the Devil as God, he went on to say, “so we cannot allow his apostle the pope or Antichrist, to govern as our head or lord”.
This 1877 painting depicts Martin Luther summoned by the Catholic Church in 1521, to renounce or reaffirm his views criticising Pope Leo X. Wikimedia Commons
As he was about to be burned by the Catholic Queen Mary for his Protestant beliefs, the Anglican bishop Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) declared, “as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy and antichrist with all his false doctrine”.
Even in 1988, as Pope John Paul II addressed the European Parliament, the Northern Ireland hardline Protestant leader Ian Paisley roared, “Antichrist! I renounce you and all your cults and creeds” – to which, we are told, the pope gave a slight bemused smile.
Except among the most extreme of Protestant conservatives, the idea of the papal Antichrist no longer has any purchase. The papal Antichrist has vacated the Western stage for the imperial Antichrist.
The Antichrist and the end of the world
In the history of Christianity, the idea of the Antichrist was a key part of Christian expectations about the return of Christ and the end of the world.
In the final battle between the forces of good and evil, the Antichrist would be defeated by the forces of Christ. In short, the rise of the world emperor who was the Antichrist was a sign that the end of the world was at hand.
In the light of the Western history of “the Antichrist”, the image of the imperial and papal US president is a powerful sign that the global order – at least as we have known it for the last 80 years – may be at an end.
Philip C. Almond does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
New ‘engine for growth’ package announced as Defence Secretary closes London Stock Exchange
Industry, innovators and investors will benefit from a new partnership with UK Defence, making it easier and more attractive to do business than ever before.
New partnership with business launched in the heart of City of London to unlock innovation, create skilled jobs and boost investment, as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
John Healey MP becomes first Defence Secretary to close the day’s market at London Stock Exchange, announcing new Defence ‘Tech Scaler’ initiative to drive innovations from idea to frontline.
New report shows small and medium enterprises funded by the Ministry of Defence have attracted nearly £600 million private equity investment, supporting over 1,000 new jobs across the UK.
Launching this new partnership with a package of measures including a new ‘Tech Scaler’ pilot, John Healey MP will today become the first Defence Secretary to close the day’s market at the London Stock Exchange, underlining the government’s backing for the defence industry as an engine for national renewal and economic growth.
Speaking to business leaders, military personnel and private financiers, he called for an end to prejudice against defence investment and outlined how defence is driving economic growth, boosting British jobs and national security, underpinning the Government’s Plan for Change.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
The war in Ukraine confronts us with the truth that a military is only as strong as the industry which stands behind it.
I’m here today – at this most crucial time – to help forge a new partnership between industry, innovators and investors.
UK Defence is open for business and together we can make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.
National security is at the heart of our Plan for Change, and is essential for economic security, investor confidence and social stability.
The Defence Secretary set out a package of measures to foster easier access to the defence market, including:
Defence Tech Scaler: A new Ministry of Defence Marketplace to drive innovations from idea to front line, with Enterprise Agreements for software, data and AI suppliers, to make it easier for innovative businesses, of all sizes, to do business with defence. As part of this, the Ministry of Defence has signed four Enterprise Agreements with firms including Adarga, Haedean, Oxford Dynamics and WhiteSpace – to a total value of up to £50 million.
Procurement Reform: A new segmented approach and radically faster targets for procurement in three areas: 1) major equipment – planes, tanks, ships – will go from an average of six to two years to get on contract; 2) upgrades to communications and weapons systems will go from an average of three to one year to get on contract, and 3) purchases of off-the-shelf kit – such as drones and software – will run in three-month cycles. For Armed Forces, this will mean they will get what they need when they need it, and for investors, it will mean a timelier return on investment.
Defence Innovation: A new innovation organisation, UK Defence Innovation, will help deliver cutting-edge technology to the Armed Forces and will be up and running by July this year, with a ring-fenced budget of £400 million this financial year.
Defence Industrial Joint Council, led by the Defence Secretary, will host its first meeting next month, and help co-ordinate public-private investment strategies – boosting investment into UK defence and delivering new jobs across Britain.
These measures come as a new report shows the value of the defence industry to the wider UK economy. The report, published today, found that funding from the MoD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) to 461 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) resulted in nearly £600m in private investment and created 1,842 new jobs across the UK. £174 million was raised in 2024 alone, demonstrating defence as an engine for UK economic growth and delivering on the government’s Plan for Change. DASA continues to fund and support SMEs developing defence technology innovations, particularly dual-use technologies serving both civilian and military needs.
Daniel Maguire, Group Head, London Stock Exchange Group said:
The defence industry plays a vital role in the wider UK economy, supporting jobs and creating long-term value alongside ensuring our national security. We welcome the Government’s new measures and hope that LSEG can support in initiatives designed to help unlock capital for companies, boost growth, and promote innovation.
Last month, the Government welcomed the launch of a new UK Defence and Economic Growth Task Force – led by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) CEO and consulting firm Oliver Wyman, and jointly chaired by the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Defence. The Task Force will meet for the first time this month to unlock the potential of the UK’s defence sector to drive long-term national growth, innovation, and economic resilience.
Guy Garvey has lent his distinctive voice to a short film promoting the work of a Manchester fund which helps people experiencing homelessness.
The Elbow singer has provided the voiceover for the clip which highlights the work of Real Change MCR, a fund which helps people build new lives away from the streets.
The Real Change MCR fund is accessed by more than 20 homelessness organisations and charities which provide support people who are, or have been, sleeping rough.
Grants are awarded to individuals to help them get off – and stay off – the streets. The money funds a wide range of practical support: From helping towards the deposit on a flat or the first month’s rent or buying furniture or essential household appliances to securing smart clothes or a training course to help get a job.
Since the Fund was launched it has raised almost £500,000 and helped more than 1750 people to move their lives forward.
James Charnock, The Chair of Real Change MCR said: “The plight of people who find themselves sleeping on the streets is something which moves us all. 100% of donations to the Real Change MCR Fund are used to provide direct grants to people in Manchester who are experiencing homelessness to support them off the streets.
“We would never discourage people from donating to the many charities who are doing good work in Manchester tackling homelessness, not least because we work closely with them.
“But if you want to give differently, and to know that your donation will directly benefit someone in Manchester, please remember Real Change MCR. As this video illustrates, your small change can make a big difference.”
The short film can be viewed here: www.realchangemcr.co.uk
To find out more about Real Change MCR, or to make a donation, visit www.realchangemcr.co.uk
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
DASA innovation funding delivers nearly £1 billion boost to UK economy
The Defence and Security Accelerator’s impact on innovation showcased in new research.
A new report published today reveals that companies funded by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) have generated nearly £1 billion in economic value and created over 1,800 jobs across the UK.
The independent research, conducted by Beauhurst, demonstrates how DASA’s support for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is delivering significant benefits for both national security and economic growth.
The report was announced by the Rt Hon John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence during an address at the London Stock Exchange.
Key findings from the report include:
DASA-funded innovators have generated £972 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) between 2019 and 2023
Companies that received DASA funding secured an additional £592 million in equity investment
1,842 new jobs created by DASA-funded businesses
DASA-funded firms raised £174 million in 2024 alone
DASA leverages science and technology expertise from Dstl to fast track innovative ideas towards impact. The report highlights DASA’s evolution from simply finding and funding innovation to providing comprehensive support for the businesses behind the innovations, helping them grow and scale their technologies.
Innovation collaboration drives success
Anita Friend, Head of DASA said:
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is proud to be a key enabler for innovation. This Beauhurst report demonstrates DASA’s real-world impact on UK defence, security and economic growth, and highlights the importance of DASA’s work
Regional Impact
The research also reveals DASA’s significant regional reach, with funded companies spread across the UK, helping to drive economic growth in all nations and regions.
Many DASA-funded SMEs are now actively engaged in both domestic and international markets, demonstrating the broad scope of support DASA offers and the global relevance of UK defence and security innovation.
Success Stories
Several DASA-funded companies are featured in the report as standout successes, including:
Osler Diagnostics
An Oxford-based clinical diagnostics company which secured a £73.8m investment deal in 2024, representing 41% of the total raised that year by DASA-funded innovators. The company has developed a device to test for a range of disease biomarkers.
Calyo
A Bristol-based electronics company which develops sensor systems using ultrasound technology to provide perception and vision capabilities. Calyo’s technology is set to transform the sensor-enabled mobile robotics industry, exemplifying its dual-use capabilities with applications in unmanned systems for the defence sector, as well as assistive tools designed to aid blind individuals.
Dr Mihai Caleap, Founder & CEO, Calyo said:
DASA’s early support was instrumental in helping us transition from a promising prototype to a commercially viable technology. Their backing opened doors to follow-on funding and strategic partnerships.
Today, Calyo’s AI-enabled ultrasound sensing platform addresses real-world challenges across both defence and civilian sectors – from delivering redundant perception for autonomous systems to ensuring operational safety in degraded sensing environments.
Building a safer future
DASA remains focused on addressing fragmentation in the innovation system, supporting dual-use technologies, and ensuring business growth is factored into the development of new defence and security capabilities.
Anita Friend added:
DASA is committed to fostering innovation and supporting economic growth and by seeking and nurturing novel solutions from idea to impact DASA helps keep the UK safe and secure, ensuring defence and security capabilities remain second to none and supporting the government’s commitment to ensure the UK is a leader in defence innovation.
The full Beauhurst report is available on the DASA website.
