As the nation marks Reserves Day today, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson praised these exceptionally talented people and called for more specialists such as engineers, chefs, media operations and electricians to step up and join the UK Armed Forces as Reservists.

Speaking at a reception for Reservists in the house of Commons last night, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Reservists play a vital role in our Armed Forces, bringing a huge range of experiences and skills to the defence of our country.

As the threats we face intensify we need to attract the brightest and the best from all walks of life as part of a modern military.

This morning the Defence Secretary thanked civil servant reservists at a specially hosted breakfast in 10 Downing St.

The men and women of our Reserve forces give up their free time training to work alongside regular troops around the world. From telecoms workers and police officers to students they serve our country when called upon in a huge variety of roles such as dog handlers, logistics movers, intelligence officers and medics.

Reservist Colonel Sion Walker is a teacher by trade. He is currently deployed as Commanding Officer of Op ORBITAL, which is a UK programme to train the Ukrainian military in non-lethal skills and tactics such as the identification of mines, medical care and logistics.

Colonel Sion Walker is leading the operation. He said:

For me, it’s important to give something back. I have been able to use my skill sets as an educator and in the Army to complement each other. In school it gave me a different outlook on life. Some people whinge about how bad things are, but thanks to my military experiences I have a better balance in life, which means I don’t get vexed.

It means you’re more robust as a person. And I’ve been able to give young people better advice in school. I get youngsters asking me for careers advice about joining any of the Armed forces, and that is very satisfying.

The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, Mrs Justice Rose and Mrs Justice Simler as Lady Justices of Appeal and the following as Lord Justices of Appeal: Mr Justice Baker, Mr Justice Green, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr Justice Males.

These appointments will fill current and forthcoming vacancies in the Court of Appeal.

Further information

These appointments are to be made in light of the appointment of Sir Andrew McFarlane as the President of the Family Division, forthcoming appointments to the Supreme Court and retirements from the Court of Appeal.

The appointment of Lord and Lady Justices of the Court of Appeal are made by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor following the recommendation of an independent selection panel.

Notes for Editors

The selection panel was chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon. The other panel members were Sir Terence Etherton, the Master of the Rolls; Lord Kakkar, the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission; and two lay Commissioners of the Judicial Appointments Commission: Dame Valerie Strachan and Mr Andrew Kennon.

In accordance with section 79 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013, the panel determined the selection process to be followed. In accordance with s10(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, the selection exercise was open to applicants that satisfied the judicial eligibility condition on a 7 year basis or were Judges of the High Court.

Biographical notes

Sir Jonathan Baker: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1978 and took Silk in 2001. He was appointed a Recorder in 2000 and a High Court Judge in the Family Division in 2009. He was the Family Division Liaison Judge on the Western Circuit from 2011 until 2017. He was appointed as the Senior Family Liaison Judge in October 2017.

Dame Nicola Davies DBE: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1976 and took Silk in 1992; she was made a Bencher in 2001. She was appointed a Recorder in 1998 and a Deputy High Court Judge in 2003. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2010. In 2012 she was appointed a Senior Liaison Judge for Diversity. She was Chair of the Equal Treatment Advisory Committee of the Judicial College in 2012 and Chair of the Lord Chancellor’s Standing Committee for the Welsh Language 2016-2017. She was appointed as a Presiding Judge of the Wales Circuit in 2014.

Sir Charles Haddon-Cave: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1978 (and Hong Kong in 1980) and took Silk in 1999; he was made a Bencher in 2003. He was appointed a Recorder in 2000. He conducted the Nimrod Inquiry from 2007 to 2009. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2011. He was Chair of the Advocacy Training Council 2007-2011, Master of Education at Gray’s Inn 2012-2016, Chair of the Judicial College International Committee 2013-2017 and a member of the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee since 2018. He was a Presiding Judge for the Midland Circuit from 2014 until 2017. He was appointed Judge in Charge of the Terrorist List in 2017.

Sir Nicholas Green: Called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1986 and took Silk in 1998. He was appointed a Recorder in 2004. He was Chairman of the Bar Council in 2010 and Chairman of the Advocacy Training Council 2011-2015. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2013. He was appointed as a Presiding Judge for the South Eastern Circuit in 2017.

Sir Stephen Males: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1978 and took Silk in 1998. He was made a Bencher in 2007. He was appointed a Recorder in 2000 and authorised as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Administrative Court and Commercial Court in 2008. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2012. He was appointed a Presiding Judge for the North Eastern Circuit in 2015.

Dame Vivien Rose DBE: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1984. After ten years in private practice as a barrister she joined the Government Legal Service in 1996. She worked as an advisory lawyer in HM Treasury until the end of 2001; was promoted to the Senior Civil Service as a legal advisor in the Ministry of Defence and between 2005 and 2008 she was seconded to be a Deputy Counsel in the Office of Counsel to Speaker of the House of Commons. She was appointed a chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in 2005 and as a judge of the Charities Tribunal (later the First-tier Tribunal (Charities)) in 2008. She sat as a Recorder between 2010 and 2013. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division in 2013 and became President of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) in 2015.

Dame Ingrid Simler DBE: Called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1987 and took Silk in 2006. She was appointed a Recorder in 2002 and was authorised to sit as a Deputy High Court Judge. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2013 and she became President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in 2016.

The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Lady Justice Arden DBE, Lord Justice Kitchin and Lord Justice Sales to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom as Justices.

Lady Justice Arden DBE and Lord Justice Kitchin will join the Supreme Court on 1 October 2018, followed by Lord Justice Sales on 11 January 2019.

The appointments follow the retirement of Lord Mance, former Deputy President of the Court, in June 2018, and comes as Lord Hughes and Lord Sumption are due to retire in August and December 2018 respectively.

• immediate action on safety and living conditions
• greater resource from national teams to improve safety and reduce violence and self-harm
• living conditions improved with further refurbishments to take place
• commitment to further long-term measures as part of action plan

The Justice Secretary today (27 June 2018) published a strategy to drive up standards at HMP Exeter following an Urgent Notification by the prisons inspectorate. Ministers set up the Urgent Notification system last year to ensure that immediate action could be taken to rectify serious issues identified by inspectors.

A team of specialists, including former prison Governors and Senior Civil Servants from around the country, is working with the prison to transform its safety strategy and address the drivers of violence and self-harm.

Living conditions were immediately re-assessed and cells that were identified as not fit for purpose have been taken out of use for repairs. Faulty cell bells at the time of the inspection have already been identified and repaired – with new processes put in place to ensure swifter staff responses to them.

The prison is making particular improvements to support vulnerable prisoners in their first night and early days in custody and an updated safety strategy will be put in place by the end of July. This includes creating an additional constant supervision cell to closely monitor those assessed to be at an acute risk of suicide or self-harm.

The national drugs taskforce is also supporting a full analysis to identify what more can be done to tackle drugs entering the prison.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said:

We created the Urgent Notification process for HMIP to flag serious concerns early so that we can grip them quickly and start turning the prison around.

We are delivering swift improvements at Exeter while looking at how we raise and maintain standards in the long-term.

Safe and decent living conditions are basics we need to get right and we are now refreshing the prison’s safety strategy, taking action to reduce violence and carrying out repairs. This will ensure that staff at Exeter can focus on getting prisoner’s lives back on track.

The action plan published today also outlines:

• Extra money has been provided to the prison to address maintenance concerns, including replacing broken windows, repairing observation panels and repairing leaking toilets, sinks and privacy screens for toilets.
• Prisoner cells will be refurbished and receive new toilet seats, fittings and guard rails for beds.
• Key workers will be assigned to prisoners to help staff manage violent offenders and better understand the causes of violence.
• Improved measures to stem the flow of drugs into the prison.
• Additional managerial support to the prison Governor to deliver progress against recommendations made by inspectors.

The Secretary of State’s full action plan can be found on GOV.UK. It also sets out how Exeter’s progress over the coming year will be regularly reviewed.

The final inspection report for HMP Exeter will be published by HM Chief Inspector later this year.