These further cuts will simply apply more pressure on an already overstretched police service – Diane Abbott

Diane
Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on Bernard
Hogan-Howe’s warning on cuts to the Met’s Home Office grant, said: 

“When
the most senior officer in the country warns that the Tories’ cuts to the
police budgets are dangerous, we should all take note.  But ministers
arrogantly persist in claiming to have protected spending.

“The
substantial reductions to police budgets since 2010 already pose a threat to
public safety, now these further cuts will simply apply more pressure on an
already overstretched police service.

“Labour
will be pushing ministers keep the promise they made and protect police
spending.”



News story: UK urges Coalition to maintain momentum against Daesh

With Daesh losing in both Iraq and Syria, Ministers considered the Coalition campaign plan for 2017. This included plans for the operation to liberate Western Mosul, which the Defence Secretary reviewed with the Iraqi Prime Minister and Defence Minister during his visit to Iraq last weekend. With eastern Mosul recently liberated by Iraqi forces, operations to free the west of the city from Daesh’s tyranny will start shortly.

The RAF has been in action, striking Daesh around the approaches to the city in recent weeks ahead of the launch of the operation, including sinking a Daesh heavy machine gun team last week on a boat on the River Tigris. On Tuesday careful surveillance operations allowed a building on the north-western outskirts of Mosul to be identified as a Daesh headquarters. With Iraqi forces keeping close watch from across the Tigris, a flight of Typhoons were able to conduct a highly accurate attack late at night – two Paveway IVs demolished the target.

RAF Typhoons bomb a Daesh HQ

RAF fast jets and remotely piloted aircraft have now carried out over 1,200 airstrikes against Daesh, second only to the United States in numbers of Coalition strikes.

In Syria, where the picture is more complicated, the Defence Secretary confirmed that by spring the operation to isolate Raqqa, the last major city Daesh holds in Syria, would be complete. It is expected that thereafter the liberation of the city itself will begin.

As the fight against Daesh enters a new phase, Ministers reviewed Coalition requests to make the training effort more flexible. The Defence Secretary last month authorised UK personnel to deliver training at secured and protected locations in Iraq, in addition to the training sites at Taji, Al Asad, Besmayah and Irbil, where personnel are already deployed. By training forward Britain will now deliver the infantry skills, counter-IED, combat first aid and bridge-building training where Iraqi forces need it. British forces previously mentored Iraqi forces carrying out bridge building ahead of the liberation of eastern Mosul.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

Daesh is losing ground, fighters, and funding. Now we need to keep up the pressure on Mosul and Raqqa to deal Daesh a decisive blow. Britain will continue playing its leading role providing vital intelligence, precision airstrikes, and training Iraqi forces where they need it.

The meeting of Coalition Defence Ministers took place following discussions the day before on what more NATO would do to protect its southern borders. Sir Michael confirmed that Britain will send a UK military officer to help lead NATO’s newly established training and capacity building mission in Iraq. This effort will help Iraqis defeat Daesh with training including in countering explosive devices. This commitment builds on the work that Britain is already doing in the country, where, we are helping to train Iraqi forces at an unprecedented level, with over 3,000 being trained a month.

Read more about UK activity against Daesh here



China hopes to cover flights, trains with internet

China is hoping to make the internet available in aircraft cabins, high speed trains or even remote mountainous areas, thanks to six communication satellites it’s planning to send into orbit this year, according to China National Radio.

The first satellite – Shijian-13 – is to be launched on a Long March 3B (also known as the CZ-3B) rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) in April.

Shi Jian 13 is an experimental geostationary satellite, designed to test electric propulsion, with an orbital life of 15 years, according to Gunter’s Space Page.

Deputy chief designer, Wang Min, says it’s the country’s first high-throughput satellite (HTS). It’s capable of relaying traffic many times the speed of traditional fixed satellite services (FSS), for the same amount of allocated frequency on orbit, according to intelsat.com.

Later in the year, the scientific research satellite Shijian-18 will be delivered into orbit by the Long March 5B rocket in mid-2017, according to Space Flights News.

Zhou Zhicheng, director of the communications satellite department of the China Academy of Space Technology, said the launch of these communications satellites will help improve the prospects for China’s satellite mobile communications system.

On a global scale, 24 communications satellites operating in orbit currently were manufactured by Chinese organizations, according to China National Radio.



We need urgent action to tackle the understaffing which is contributing to the Tories’ prisons crisis – Yasmin Qureshi

Yasmin
Qureshi MP, Labour’s Shadow Prisons Minister, commenting on today’s National Offender
Management Service (NOMS) workforce statistics, said:

“It’s no
wonder ministers tried to sneak this out during Parliamentary recess.

“It would
appear Liz Truss’s flagship recruitment drive is failing and frontline officers
are still leaving the service. 

“We need
urgent action to tackle the understaffing which is contributing to the Tories’
prisons crisis.”



Self-employed haulage contractor killed by reversing lorry

A Swinton transport company and a director were in court today following the death of an HGV company owner at their Sandywood Industrial Estate.

Daniel Adams, 63, of Farnworth, rented a unit on the industrial estate owned by Alec Sharples Farm Supplies and Transport Limited where the fatal incident occurred on the 7 May 2014.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Mr Adams had been working on one of his own lorries when an HGV owned by Alec Sharples reversed into Mr Adam’s section of the yard.

The HGV driver spoke with Mr Adams. However, when the conversation was over the HGV driver reversed his truck, inadvertently crushing Mr Adam’s between the two vehicles. Daniel Adams was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where he died of internal injuries two days later.

The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which prosecuted Alec Sharples Farm Supplies and Transport Limited for serious safety failings in the organisation and operation of the site.

The HSE investigation found the firm had failed to implement a safe system of work for reversing HGV’s and training drivers. There was no segregation of pedestrians and HGV’s or any banksmen provided.

Alec Sharples Farm Supplies and Transport Ltd of Roscow Road, Kearsley, Bolton pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,000.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Ian Betley said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the host company to implement safe systems of work, and failure to ensure that health and safety documentation was communicated and followed.

“This risk was further amplified by the company’s failure to undertake a number of simple safety measures including segregating vehicles and pedestrians, ensuring that vehicles were fitted with reversing ‘bleepers’, and ensuring that reversing manoeuvres were supervised, in accordance with their site rules.

Information on workplace transport is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg138.pdf

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement hse.gov.uk
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/
  3. Further HSE news releases are available at press.hse.gov.uk

Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases.