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Author Archives: HM Government

Press release: PM meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Ratas: 18 July 2017

The Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas today at Downing Street.

The Prime Minister said we are leaving the EU but we are not leaving Europe and we are determined to maintain close friendships with our allies like Estonia.

The Prime Minister welcomed Estonia taking over the EU Presidency and confirmed that the UK would work to support their agenda, including on digital initiatives, cyber security, tackling online extremism and addressing the migration crisis in the Mediterranean.

The Prime Minister provided an update on the constructive beginning to Brexit negotiations and confirmed that we look forward to reaching an agreement on citizens’ rights at the earliest possible stage.

Noting that the UK and Estonia both meet the NATO 2% spending commitment, both leaders agreed that our defence relationship is particularly strong, with 800 British troops deployed in Estonia as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence and British fighter jets policing airspace in the Baltics region.

Finally, turning to Russia, they agreed on the importance of maintaining the Ukraine sanctions until the Minsk Accord is implemented in full.

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HM Government

News story: Ineos is granted environmental permit for exploratory borehole in South Yorkshire

The Environment Agency has granted an environmental permit to allow Ineos Upstream Ltd to drill an exploratory borehole at a site in South Yorkshire.

The ‘Standard Rules’ permit allows the company to carry out drilling and waste management to take core samples of the rock at Common Road, Harthill. It does not allow fracking.

Standard Rules permits include fixed rules and conditions that cover common, low-risk industrial activities including low-risk testing. They are issued to companies only after they demonstrate that they understand and can manage the risks to people and the environment.

If the firm wishes to carry out additional activities on the site in the future, such as full well testing or hydraulic fracturing, it must submit a bespoke permit application that is tailored to those activities.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

Our regulatory controls for onshore oil and gas are in place to protect people and the environment. Standard Rules permits are common across industry and maintain high levels of environmental protection. They do not allow companies to carry out fracking – this activity requires a bespoke permit application which would be subject to a site-specific environmental risk assessment and extensive public consultation.

As with all decisions on whether to issue environmental permits, we will assess a company’s proposals to ensure they meet strict requirements. If an activity poses an unacceptable risk to the environment, the activity will not be permitted.

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HM Government

News story: Minister for Human Rights statement on Russian Supreme Court ruling

On 17 July 2017 Russia’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal lodged by the Administrative Centre of the Russian branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses against the Supreme Court decision of 20 April which had upheld a ruling categorising them as “extremists”. The Russian government have made commitments to freedom of religion in international fora, including in the Council of Europe.

Following this decision, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for Human Rights, said:

We are deeply concerned by the decision of Russia’s Supreme Court to reject the appeal of the Jehovah’s Witnesses against their labelling as “extremists”.

This ruling confirms the criminalisation of the peaceful worship of 175,000 Russian citizens and contravenes the right to religious freedom that is enshrined in the Russian Constitution.

The British government continues to call upon the Russian government to uphold its international commitment to this basic freedom.

Further information

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HM Government