Environment Agency Chair Emma Howard Boyd delivers a speech at the Manchester Green Summit.

The words of the leader of Isis were the purest hubris. In the summer of 2014, he claimed that he would “conquer Rome and own the world”. At that time, Isis controlled an area of Syria and Iraq roughly the size of the UK. Its terrorists were imposing a rule of obscurantist barbarism on about 7m people.

Yet today (Saturday 23 March 2019), the last fragment of territory is prised from its grasp. We should welcome the blow struck against one of the most depraved terrorist movements in history, guilty of imposing unspeakable suffering on countless people in the Middle East.

We should keep at the centre of our minds the bereaved families of the Britons who were murdered by terrorists inspired by Isis. And we should remember the sexual slavery inflicted on women and girls in the territories it occupied. Isis recruits were given a pamphlet called Questions and Answers on Taking Captives and Slaves. One passage read: “It is permissible to buy, sell or give as a gift female captives or slaves, for they are merely property.”

Nadia Murad, the brave Nobel laureate, was among thousands of women from the Yazidi minority treated in this abominable way. In her book, she wrote: “When Daesh [Isis] took over Sinjar and began kidnapping Yazidis, they called their human spoils sabaya, referring to the young women they would buy and sell as sex slaves. This was part of their plan for us.”

The hard lesson for those who opposed military action [political content removed] is that, without the use of force, this sickening behaviour would have continued unchecked. They should reflect that whatever mistakes may have been made in the past, it would be profoundly wrong to rule out military action in all circumstances.

Another myth is that the battle against Isis has been waged largely by Britain, America and other western countries. In fact, we are part of a global coalition of no fewer than 75 countries, including many in the Middle East, adding to the moral as well as practical force of our actions. The Iraqi security forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces have borne the brunt of the ground fighting: they deserve our thanks for their courage and sacrifice.

But we should not mistake the loss of territory by Isis for final defeat. As they are driven underground, they are adopting insurgency tactics and forming covert networks in Syria and Iraq. Isis remains a threat, so military action will continue to be necessary.

The survival of their murderous ideology does not depend on control of territory. They can still use the internet to raise funds and spread the propaganda that encouraged young people in Britain such as Shamima Begum with such terrible consequences.

I believe we can draw three lessons. First, that the internet is part of the battlefield just as much as the sands of Syria or Iraq. Since 2016, Britain has led the international campaign to counter the ability of Isis propaganda to incite, inspire and recruit. The Foreign Office hosts the global coalition’s strategic communications cell, putting UK expertise at the heart of the effort to expose the reality behind Isis lies.

Second, the successes against Isis would not have been possible without a broad coalition under US leadership, even though America is much further away from the conflict zone than European countries. If we want the US to continue to play its part in maintaining peace around the world, European nations must be prepared to carry our share of the global burden.

Finally, even if Isis has lost physical territory today, other extremist ideologies will be back tomorrow. Isis was a successor to al-Qaeda and the movement will spawn its own successors. History shows that groups such as Isis can survive and remain dangerous even without territory.

So we must continue to be vigilant. That means pressing on with military action while countering online propaganda and using every diplomatic and humanitarian lever to address the conditions that allowed the rise of Isis in the first place. It also means defending our democratic liberal values with much more confidence.

And our confidence is justified, because while the struggle against Isis is not over, the recapture of its territory means a major battle has been won.

Five brand new garden towns have been unveiled unlocking up to 64,000 much-needed homes across England, the Minister of State for Housing has announced today (25 March 2019).

The locally-led new communities, from Hertfordshire to Gloucestershire, will receive a share of £3.7 million of funding to fast-track specialist survey work and planning works necessary for each new town’s development.

The funds will be spent by councils to help to deliver the homes and infrastructure needed for both neighbouring communities and future residents who will call the new town home. This includes specialist survey work and planning applications.

The 5 successful bids are:

• Grazeley Garden Settlement, delivering up to 15,000 homes
• Hemel Garden Communities, delivering up to 11,000 homes
• Easton Park Garden Community, North Uttlesford Garden Community and West of Braintree Garden Community, an opportunity to deliver up to 18,500 homes
• Tewkesbury Ashchurch Garden Community, delivering up to 10,195 homes
• Meecebrook, in the north of Stafford borough, delivering around 10,000 homes

Councils and groups from around the country submitted more than 100 ambitious proposals with the 5 taken forward receiving an initial £750,000 to help develop plans for vibrant, thriving settlements where people can live, work and raise families.

Today’s announcement is the next step in the government’s drive to build the homes this country needs, and follows the news last month of a £9 million investment to speed up the building of existing garden towns and villages.

Minister of State for Housing Kit Malthouse MP said:

These new towns will not only provide homes for families, but will be vibrant communities where everyone, including neighbouring communities can benefit from new infrastructure – leaving a legacy for future generations to be proud of.

I congratulate these councils who have put forward ambitious proposals, which will build many thousands of high-quality homes, and am pleased to support them as they work to make these plans a reality.

Garden communities can take the form of new villages, towns or cities and have the potential to deliver well designed homes at an increased scale, boosting the local economy and creating new jobs.

The 5 new schemes announced today will join the 23 existing garden communities the government is currently supporting, which are already delivering new homes today, bringing us closer to the government’s aim to deliver 300,000 new homes a year by the mid 2020s.

A garden town is a development of more than 10,000 homes.

Including a project in the garden communities programme does not prejudice or presuppose the planning system – the appropriate planning processes will still need to be followed.

The government is committed to bringing forward a minimum of 5 additional Garden Communities, which is on top of the 23 already supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. These schemes are located at:

• Bicester
• Didcot
• Basingstoke
• Otterpool Park in Kent
• Aylesbury
• Taunton
• Harlow-Gilston
• North Essex
• North Northamptonshire Garden Villages
• Long Marston in Stratford-on-Avon
• Oxfordshire Cotswold in West Oxfordshire
• Tresham in East Northants
• Culm in Mid Devon
• Welborne near Fareham in Hampshire
• West Carclaze in Cornwall
• Dunton Hills near Brentwood, Essex
• Spitalgate Heath in South Kesteven District, Lincolnshire
• Halsnead in Knowsley, Merseyside
• Longcross in Runnymede and Surrey Heath
• Bailrigg in Lancaster
• Infinity Garden Village in South Derbyshire and Derby City area
• St Cuthberts near Carlisle City, Cumbria
• Handforth in Cheshire East

In addition to the 5 garden town schemes outlined above, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also shortly announce further successful bids, including garden villages submitted prior to the 9 November 2018 deadline.

New garden towns will provide up to 64,000 much-needed homes across England.

David Peattie, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), spoke of the need to prioritise skills if the industry was to meet its future challenges.

As keynote speaker for both events, David detailed the work taking place within NDA group to ensure a current and future workforce capable of driving forward the nuclear decommissioning industry.

He said:

We were delighted to support the first Nuclear Skills conference and this year’s Nuclear Skills Awards showcasing the breadth of talent in the nuclear industry.

Ensuring we have the right skills in place both now and in the future, is vitally important to the NDA and our mission to clean up the UK’s nuclear sites. Developing young people and talented individuals into tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, engineers and professionals is crucial for the future of our sector and the wider nuclear industry.

The events shed light on the skills and expertise in the industry and rightly celebrate the exceptional work of individuals from across the nuclear sector.

The skills conference and awards welcomed nuclear leaders, supply chain companies and young people who are currently benefitting from nuclear skills programmes, including apprentices and higher and further leaners.

The events were organised by the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group, and NSAN and Cogent Skills respectively.

During the skills conference, delegates discussed issues around the Nuclear Sector Deal workforce themes including skills leadership, diversity, subject matter experts, a talent pipeline through apprenticeships and sector transferability.

While the awards ceremony saw a new ED&I category, supported by the NDA, highlighting the exceptional work of individuals from the nuclear industry, in the promotion and support of equality, diversity and inclusion.

David added:

Making our organisations more inclusive is not only the right thing to do, but is crucial if we want to continue to attract, progress and retain talented people with the skills and diverse thinking we need in the years to come.

The first Nuclear Skills conference was held at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and the 11th UK Nuclear Skills Awards were held at Hilton Hotel, in Manchester.