The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport highlighted the importance of business, government and civil society working together to deliver inclusive growth

Starting on 1 June 2019 e-mails sent directly to the exceptional and complex cases team should only cover enquiries that are:

• received from an applicant or MP
• requesting a one off case contract
• about paper based exceptional case funding or CIS certificated work
• about legal help applications
• about clearly marked as a complaint
• clearly marked with an LAA contingency reference number

E-mails sent to the ‘contactECCT’ mailbox on Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) matters from 1 June 2019 will not be actioned. This is to eradicate duplication of enquiries.

If your enquiry is about online working in CCMS, this should be uploaded via the case enquiry function.

Further information

CCMS training website – for CCMS support

contactECC@ljustice.gov.uk – for exceptional case funding enquiries listed above

On Thursday 9 May, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary met with Libyan Government of National Accord Prime Minister Fayez Al-Serraj at 10 Downing Street.

They discussed the UK’s commitment to building international support for a ceasefire and the need for all sides to make compromises in the pursuit of peace.

Speaking after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

The UK government shares Prime Minister Serraj’s grave concern at the situation across Libya, where the security and humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

Recent violence has caused the displacement of thousands of people and blocked emergency aid to casualties, including civilians. It is imperative that all parties respect International Humanitarian Law.

In our discussions today, we called on Prime Minister Serraj to encourage all sides to commit to a ceasefire, secure humanitarian access for those desperately in need and return to UN-led political negotiations.

We’ve been clear that there can be no military solution in Libya – diplomacy is the only way to bring this bloodshed and uncertainty to a close.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt notes the verdicts against 2 Russian GRU officers who plotted the coup.

The judicial authorities of Montenegro have today (9 May) announced that 2 Russian intelligence officers have been found guilty of plotting an attempted coup in Montenegro, which took place in 2016.

GRU agents Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov were tried in absentia for creating a criminal organisation and attempted terrorism. Shishmakov was also tried for inciting acts against the constitution and safety of Montenegro.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

The failed coup attempt against Montenegro in 2016 was one of the most outrageous examples of Russia’s attempts to undermine European democracy. The GRU’s brazen attempt to interfere with Montenegro’s national elections and undermine Montenegro’s application to join NATO is yet another example of destabilising and aggressive Russian behaviour over the last decade.

The guilty verdicts announced today against the 2 Russian intelligence officers responsible for plotting this coup were the conclusion of Montenegrin legal proceedings of unprecedented transparency. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, Russia’s claims that the 2 men were researching an article about the Russian military in the region during the First World War were proven to be absurd.

Russia is a great country and central to European civilisation. Moscow must desist from any attacks that undermine the territorial integrity and democratic processes of its neighbours or other sovereign states. The UK calls on Russia to choose a different path – to uphold the security of Europe, respect the rules based international system that keeps our societies safe, and to work together with us to fulfil our common responsibilities as permanent members of the UN Security Council.