Apr72017

News story: Chief Constable’s contract extended

HM Government
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The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) CEO/Chief Constable appointment usually runs for a five year term and Mike’s contract was due to finish in September 2017; however, due to the ongoing Infrastructure Policing programme and several other large projects that are close to fruition, his contract has now been extended until September 2019.

The Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA) Senior Appointments Committee had recommended to the Authority that the CEO be offered a continuation of contract for a further two years. The recommendation was endorsed by the Authority and approved by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Minister, Jesse Norman, MP.

Vic Emery, CNPA Chairman, said: “I am very pleased that Mike has agreed to be the CNC’s CEO/Chief Constable for these extra two years and look forward to continuing to work with him. I am sure my colleagues are as pleased about the extension as I am.”

Chief Constable Mike Griffiths said: “The CNC has risen to every challenge it has had given to it, growing in size, capability and operational credibility. It has been a great privilege to be part of that success and I am delighted to have two more years at the CNC as we look to consolidate our gains and plan for the future.”

Mike joined the CNC as Chief Constable in October 2012 after a career in the army spanning more than 30 years. As CEO/Chief Constable, he is responsible for the operational performance of the CNC and for improving, developing and maintaining effective strategic partnerships with the CNPA, site license companies, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (Civil Nuclear Security), Home Office and Police Scotland forces and the Ministry of Defence Police. He is also the Accounting Officer for the Civil Nuclear Police Authority and the CNC, ensuring demonstrable financial efficiency and effectiveness.

Apr72017

Press release: Director of Colchester restaurant receives 8-year disqualification

HM Government
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Mr Khan was the director of Colne Valley Restaurant Limited, which traded as Colne Valley Indian Restaurant in Earls Colne, Colchester.

He has been disqualified from acting as a company director for 8 years after an investigation by the Insolvency Service found he had employed an illegal worker, understated profits for tax purposes, and failed in his duty to ensure the company either maintained or preserved adequate accounting records.

Mr Khan’s disqualification from 11 April 2017 means that he cannot promote, manage or be a director of a limited company until 2025.

Prior to the cessation of its trading in February 2014, officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had visited the premises and discovered that some of the restaurant takings were excluded from its takings records. Further investigations undertaken by HMRC also found that some of the restaurant’s sales had been underpriced, while some ingredients had been overpriced, leading to understatements of profits for Corporation Tax purposes.

Officers from Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) also visited the restaurant premises on 4 October 2013 when the company was found to be employing an illegal worker. Mr Khan was as a result served with a Notification of Liability for a Civil Penalty of £5,000. The fine was not paid and Mr Khan took steps to place the company into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation, which took place on 19 May 2015.

Robert Clarke, Head of Insolvent Investigations North at the Insolvency Service, said:

The Insolvency Service rigorously pursues directors who fail to deal properly with a company’s taxation affairs and to pay fines imposed for breaking employment and immigration laws. We have worked closely in this case with our colleagues at HM Revenue & Customs and the Home Office to achieve this disqualification.

The director sought unfair advantages over his competitors by failing to ensure that profits were properly recorded and by employing individuals who did not have the right to work in the UK, in breach of his duties as a director.

The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences. Running a limited company means you have statutory protections as well as obligations.

If you fail to comply with your obligations, then the Insolvency Service will investigate you.

Notes to editors

Colne Valley Restaurant Limited (CRO No. 06527924) was incorporated in 2008. The company’s trading address was 110 High Street, Earls Colne, Colchester, Essex, CO6 2QX.

Colne Valley Restaurant Limited entered liquidation on 19 May 2015 with no assets and liabilities of £38,514. Moulana Mohammed Abdul Goffar Khan is from Halstead and his date of birth is June 1973.

The disqualification undertaking was accepted by the Secretary of State on 21 March 2017 and will come into force on 11 April 2017.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

  1. act as a director of a company
  2. take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
  3. be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Apr72017

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alleged chemical attack in Idlib, Syria

EU
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The EU condemns in the strongest terms the air strike that hit the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province on 4 April 2017, which has had horrific consequences, causing the deaths and injuries of scores of civilians including children and relief workers, with many victims displaying symptoms of gas poisoning.

The EU urges the United Nations Security Council to come together, strongly condemn the attack on Khan Sheikhoun and ensure a swift, independent and impartial investigation of the attack.

The OPCW’s Fact Finding Mission (FFM) is in the process of gathering and analysing information from all available sources. While the investigation into this attack is ongoing, the EU is deeply worried to note that the Syrian regime has previously used chemical weapons in 2015, as identified in the August and October reports of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism, and which the EU strongly condemned at the time. In this context, the EU reiterates that as a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Syrian regime has explicitly obligated itself to refrain from the use of chemical weapons and that the Syrian regime has the primary responsibility for the protection of the Syrian population. The EU therefore calls on the regime’s allies, notably Russia, to exercise appropriate pressure on the Syrian regime to this end.

The use of chemical weapons or chemical substances as weapons amounts to a war crime. Their use in Syria, including by the regime and Da’esh, must stop and identified perpetrators must be held accountable for this violation of international law.

Those guilty of violations of international law and the use of chemical weapons have to be sanctioned accordingly. In March, the EU added 4 high-ranking Syrian military officials to the sanctions list for their role in the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population, in line with the EU’s policy to fight the proliferation and use of chemical weapons.

The EU will continue to support the efforts of the OPCW in Syria with regard to the investigation of the use of chemical weapons and considers that such efforts have to be continued in the future by the international community.

This attack constitutes a flagrant violation of the ceasefire. It underlines the urgent need for a real and verified ceasefire. The EU calls on Russia, Turkey and Iran to live up to their commitments as guarantors in this regard.

Attacks of this kind only reinforce the urgent need for a genuine political transition in Syria and the EU’s will to support UN efforts to broker a political solution to the Syrian conflict through the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, as reaffirmed at the International Conference “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” that the EU hosted in Brussels on 5 April 2017.

Apr72017

Mogherini rencontre Mankeur Ndiaye, Ministre des Affaires Etrangères de la République du Sénégal

EU
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La Haute Représentante/Vice-Présidente Federica Mogherini, a rencontré aujourd’hui à Bruxelles Mankeur Ndiaye, Ministre des Affaires Etrangères et des Sénégalais de l’Extérieur de la République du Sénégal. 
 
La Haute Représentante s’est félicité de l’excellente qualité des relations entre l’Union Européenne et le Sénégal. La rencontre aujourd’hui s’inscrit dans le cadre du dialogue permanent entre ces deux partenaires de longue date dans de multiples dossiers régionaux et internationaux. 

Mogherini a salué le Sénégal pour son engagement à promouvoir la paix et la stabilité en Afrique et sa participation significative aux opérations de maintien de la paix. Elle a souligné le fait que le Forum International sur la Paix et la Sécurité en Afrique, dont la quatrième édition se déroulera au mois de novembre à Dakar, sera l’occasion de poursuivre le dialogue stratégique sur les menaces communes telles que la radicalisation et l’extrémisme violent.
 
Les deux parties ont aussi évoqué le prochain sommet Afrique-UE, qui offrira une opportunité unique de renforcer la relation entre les deux continents et de se concentrer sur les opportunités qu’offre la jeune population d’Afrique.

Ils ont passé en revue leur coopération dans le domaine de la migration et ils ont accueilli positivement les progrès accomplis. Mogherini et le Ministre Ndiaye ont aussi réitéré leur préoccupation commune quant au nombre de migrants mettant leur vies en péril en mer et dans le désert, ou restant bloqués sur la route vers la Méditerranée, qui sont souvent les victimes de passeurs et trafiquants sans scrupules. Mogherini a souligné l’importance du travail de l’OIM au Niger, et en Libye, et l’ appui donné par l’Union européenne, pour fournir un soutien aux ressortissants des pays tiers. 

Les deux parties ont salué les efforts du nouveau gouvernement en Gambie pour relancer le pays sur la voie de la démocratie, des droits humains et de l’Etat de droit. Mogherini a confirmé le soutien de l’Union européenne à la Gambie et a souligné le rôle essentiel du Sénégal dans l’évolution positive des derniers mois.