The Prime Minister welcomed Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to Downing Street on 14 September with Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also in attendance.

The leaders spoke of the deep and historical ties between the UK and Malaysia and agreed on the importance of taking steps to enhance our bilateral relationship. They noted that that 2017 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries as well as the 60th anniversary of Malaysian independence.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Najib discussed the ongoing crisis in Rakhine in Burma with the Prime Minister reiterating the importance of the Burmese authorities allowing unfettered access for humanitarian assistance in the country. The leaders agreed that the UK and Malaysia should co-ordinate on the provision of humanitarian assistance in Burma and in Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Najib also agreed on the continuing importance of Commonwealth values and spoke of the steps being taken to renew the organisation including at the Commonwealth Summit in London next year.

They discussed the importance of the existing defence relationship between the UK and Malaysia with both countries being party to the Five Power Defence arrangements.

The leaders spoke about the opportunities that the UK’s exit from the EU will offer and committed to exploring ways to deepen the trade and investment relationship between the UK and Malaysia.

The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to personally express her condolences to Prime Minister Najib for the loss of life in the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah Tahfiz school fire.

Edward joined HMRC in 2012 after several years in HM Treasury, and is the department’s most senior tax professional. During his time at the department, Edward has fulfilled the roles of Tax Assurance Commissioner as well as leading the former business group Central Tax and Strategy. As the former Head of Profession, Edward has also been responsible for overall policy partnership with HM Treasury. Since April 2016, Edward has chaired HMRC’s Board.

Speaking of his retirement, Edward said:

After nearly 40 years in the world of tax, and the last 13 working in HM Treasury and HMRC, I have decided to retire from my role as Chair of HMRC. We have just delivered our best ever annual performance and I am immensely proud to end my professional career in tax in the department which is at the heart of the UK’s tax system. My colleagues across HMRC continue to deliver the vital work we do with huge talent and professionalism and the department is well on track to fulfil the vision of becoming a world class organisation.

Chief Executive, Jon Thompson, said:

Edward has given his all to this department during his time here, and as our most senior tax professional, we will miss greatly Edward’s expertise and leadership. HMRC is without a doubt a better organisation thanks to Edward’s contribution, and we will certainly build on his achievements here – I wish him all the best for whatever he does next.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

My colleagues and I are very grateful to Edward for his service to HMRC and HM Treasury – his deep expertise and experience has rightly gained him the respect of the tax world and he retires with our very best wishes.

Edward will leave the department on 31 December, 2017.

End

Having become involved in tax policy through work with the Institute for Fiscal Studies and other academic and professional groups, in 1995 Edward was asked to join the Treasury as Special Adviser on tax to Kenneth Clarke, the then Chancellor.

Edward worked on the 1995 and 1996 Budgets, before returning to Simmons & Simmons in 1997 as Head of Tax Strategy, where he contributed to a range of tax initiatives and published and lectured extensively on tax policy issues.

Edward joined the Treasury as Director, Business and Indirect Tax in 2004 and was Director-General, Tax and Welfare from 2010 until he joined HMRC in 2012 as Tax Assurance Commissioner and Second Permanent Secretary.

Edward Troup was appointed Executive Chair and First Permanent Secretary at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in February 2016.

Last week the British Virgin Islands, The Turks and Caicos Islands and Anguilla 3 of the 6 UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, were severely damaged by Hurricane Irma along with a number of other countries in the region.

Recovery efforts are getting underway, aid is heading to the islands from the UK and now the senior medical and healthcare professionals in the territories will be able to receive help from PHE to restore their public health systems.

Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Medical Director, said:

From recent work on international health issues, PHE has built strong working relationships with the chief medical officers of the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. Seeing the level of damage inflicted by the recent storms, it is imperative we provide whatever support we can to protect public health on the islands.

Events such as hurricanes can significantly damage public health systems. Our staff will assist those on the ground working hard to protect the islanders from infectious disease and other hazards, which can cause further problems in the aftermath of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Irma.

Health Minister, Steve Brine said:

People in the British Territories have been through a truly traumatic experience and they have the full support of this government as they rebuild their lives.

Experts from Public Health England will share their experience with local health leaders in the region to prevent outbreaks of disease – this will help protect citizens in the critical aftermath and play an important role in restoring communities.

PHE is sending 3 staff who will be available to help develop public health guidance if needed and to provide specialist support to local public health professionals. We have also opened a direct emergency response line for local chief medical officers to access public health advice from doctors in the UK at any time.

The work will involve assessing the risks to public health from the damaged infrastructure and disruption to health and social services. The plan is to do this by:

• monitoring the spread of infectious diseases which may be circulating
• determining local capacity of laboratories and other services
• ensuring critical vaccination programmes continue to be delivered
• reviewing local mosquito control programmes

The staff going are experts in:

• public health incident management
• disease monitoring
• control of disease vectors such as mosquitoes
• public health system development

It’s expected that while in the region they will assist with supporting health protection work and assessing damaged facilities to see what further work would need to be done to protect people both now and in the longer term.