The SS Mendi sank off the Isle of Wight in 1917 while carrying more than 800 men of the South African native labour corps to support the war effort on the Western Front.

It was the worst maritime disaster in South Africa’s history, and the Mendi bell – which has become a symbol of the country’s First World War remembrance – was found and restored last year after being originally salvaged from the shipwreck in the 1980s.

The Mendi bell was given to BBC reporter Steve Humphrey in 2017 in a plastic bag at Swanage Pier, Dorset, after an anonymous phone call.

He in turn gave it to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s receiver of wreck, Alison Kentuck, who then had to determine legal ownership of the bell and make the decision about a permanent home for the bell.
For a year it has been on display in the Sea City museum in Southampton while ownership research was undertaken and a permanent home was found.

Alison said: ‘In these cases I have to consider the merits of each application to have the bell. But in the end, because this bell is such a poignant part of South Africa’s history, it seemed only right to return it.

‘607 black troops from the South African native labour corps who set sail from Cape Town just over a century ago, like so many others, never returned home to their families.

‘It’s good to know that the Mendi bell is back in South Africa where it will be able to provide a focal point of remembrance for the people of South Africa and in particular the families of those who died.’

The SS Mendi sank on 21 February 1917 and 646 men drowned.

On 28 August the bell was presented to the President of South Africa by the Prime Minister Theresa May at a ceremony in Cape Town.

The government has set a new ambition for the UK to be the largest G7 investor in Africa by 2022, the Prime Minister has announced as part of a visit to promote economic ties with the continent.

The ambition was announced alongside a range of measures to boost trade between the UK and Africa and encourage UK investment in the region, including the creation of a new Africa Investors Board.

The Prime Minister will use her visit to South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria to set the stage for an Africa Investment Summit to be held in the UK in 2019. The major summit will bring together UK and African governments, alongside major international investors to grow awareness of opportunities on the continent and ensure progress toward the 2022 ambition.

The visit also saw the government commit to working more closely with African nations and to increase in its presence across the continent – bringing in trade experts, investment specialists, health and family planning policymakers and cutting-edge climate researchers so we can work together to deliver on our shared interests and find solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.

Leading a business delegation as part of the Prime Minister’s visit, Trade Minister George Hollingbery said:

The British business delegation here in Africa is telling me first-hand that there is a massive appetite from our companies to invest in Africa.

The opportunities for the UK in Africa, with its young and dynamic population – set to make up a quarter of the world’s consumers by 2050 – are clear.

The UK wants to deepen and strengthen our partnerships with countries across Africa to ensure that our mutually-beneficial relations continue to go from strength to strength.

British investors are already amongst Africa’s most prolific. They are known and respected for the quality of their investments, the innovation they bring and their strong commitment to their local workforces. This week’s visit will ensure trade between the UK and African nations, which already worth more than £31 billion, continues to grow.

British personnel have been delivering training to the Somalian National Army (SNA) since January 2017, focussing on medical training, leadership development, intelligence, equipment care, logistics and human rights.

Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster said:

The training we have provided will help build a more stable and prosperous Somalia.

The Somalian National Army have been motivated, keen to learn and professional and we remain committed to their country’s development.

The long-term aim of the programme is for Commanding Officers in the SNA to take what they have learned and become self-sufficient in training their own troops.

This training forms just part of the UK’s work in the country, the UK is also the third-largest donor to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

In 2017, it was announced that Somalia would be the beneficiary of £21million in additional backing from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund.

The UK is also supporting the development of a joint funding mechanism for policing, which we have developed jointly with the EU.

The firms – Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play – have formally agreed to remove terms and conditions which stopped players getting hold of their own money in one go.

With growing numbers of people choosing to play games and gamble online, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating the £4.9billion sector after finding that a number of firms use unfair practices and terms and conditions.

Until now, players using Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play could be made to withdraw their money in instalments over an extended period, which could lead some to gamble again where they might otherwise make a withdrawal.

The companies have also agreed to stop using unfair terms which meant they could confiscate money from players’ accounts because they had not logged in for a certain amount of time.

In addition, Progress Play has agreed not to confiscate players’ money if they do not meet their identity check rules within a specific timeframe. Whilst companies need to be able to make appropriate and proportionate identity checks to help prevent money laundering and fraud, they cannot justify confiscating someone’s money simply because they do not provide information within a specific time frame.

The CMA has been working in collaboration with the sector regulator, the Gambling Commission, to improve terms and conditions for players online and to help ensure firms do not break consumer protection law.

The changes being made by these companies today are supported by the Gambling Commission, which expects firms across the sector to apply the same standards to make online gambling fairer for players. Firms that do not make any necessary changes to their terms may face regulatory action.

George Lusty, Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA, said:

People choosing to gamble online should be able to walk away with their own money whenever they want to.

Jumpman Gaming and Progress Play are the first to commit to scrap their unfair withdrawal rules, but we expect companies across the sector to follow suit so no-one gets caught out with unfair terms and conditions when gambling online.

Paul Hope, Executive Director, Gambling Commission said:

We support the outcome of the CMA’s investigation, and we’re pleased that both of the operators involved have committed to making changes that will make it fairer and simpler for customers to withdraw funds from their online gambling accounts.

Gambling firms should not be placing unreasonable restrictions on when and how consumers can take money out of their accounts.

We now expect all online operators to review the findings published by the CMA today and ensure they update their own practices.

Notes for editors

1. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law.

2. The companies which have provided undertakings are; Progress Play Limited, Jumpman Gaming Limited.

3. The key pieces of consumer protection legislation relevant to the CMA’s investigation are the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA). The CPRs prohibit certain unfair commercial practices – in particular misleading acts or omissions, but also behaviour that is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence. Amongst other things, the CRA prohibits unfair contract terms in consumer contracts and requires that terms be transparent.

4. The CMA opened an investigation into the gambling sector’s compliance with consumer protection law in October 2016 after hearing about a range of concerns that suggested some operators were not treating their customers fairly.

5. This investigation led to the CMA announcing in June 2017 a new line of enquiry to look further into obstacles that people face when they try to withdraw their money after depositing funds and gaming or betting online (whether as part of a promotion or not).

6. The provision of these formal commitments (‘undertakings’) by the two operators is not an admission of a breach of the law. Nor does the CMA’s view amount to a binding ruling – ultimately only a court can rule that a particular term or practice infringes the law.

7. The CMA acknowledges the cooperation of Progress Play Limited and Jumpman Gaming Limited throughout the investigation.

8. The Gambling Commission reports that in 2016-17 the online gambling sector was worth £4.9 billion (Gross Gambling Yield) and accounted for 34% of all gambling. It also reports that there are over 28 million active accounts for licensed facilities in Great Britain and that just over 9 million people had gambled online in the 4 weeks up to 30 September 2017.

9. The CMA has produced a ‘60-second summary’ to help all gambling operators review their practices and ensure their terms and conditions are in line with consumer protection law. It has also produced ‘advice for gamblers’ and a short video guide for consumers.

10. If you are a member of the public with a query please email general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk or call 02037376000.

11. Media enquiries to the CMA should be directed to press@cma.gov.uk or 020 3738 6798. Media enquiries to the Gambling Commission should be directed to Nikita Jan njan@gamblingcommission.gov.uk or 0121 230 6700.

One of the most widely spoken languages in the world, English is the language of businesses and trade across the globe. At Anglolang College in Scarborough, a British Council accredited college, partnerships and collaboration with other European countries is helping to build a global Britain and creating vital links between the local community and international students.

During his visit, the Secretary of State met staff and students at the college to discuss how English language programmes – such as Erasmus+ – are contributing to the success of this country by giving opportunities to foreign students to train and study in the UK, learn our culture and contribute to our education system.

The Education Secretary also spoke to senior leaders at Anglolang about the government’s overall plan for leaving the EU, setting out how the White Paper proposal will ensure a deep and long future relationship with the EU, including on Erasmus+, while also taking back control of our laws, borders and money as voted for in the referendum.

Secretary of State for Education Damian Hinds said:

English is a global language and today it was a pleasure to meet international students who have a love of our language which they will share through teaching it across the world. It is the language of business, of trade, and of course that will continue when we leave the EU in March.

We place enormous value on international exchange schemes and collaboration – like Erasmus+ – all of which is part of our vision for a global Britain. That’s why we have guaranteed funding for students and organisations participating in this programme to continue to the end of 2020.

A British Council accredited college, Anglolang has provided training for more than 1,000 teachers of English as a foreign language from the EU, through the Erasmus+ programme. Colleges like this are driving a global Britain by linking local communities and international students to benefit through the exchange of cultures and skills.

The Education Secretary met teachers from around the European Union who are training at Anglolang to teach a range of subjects in English to non-native speakers. Trainees stay anything from one week to a year at Anglolang, living on campus or with local host families, and use the stay as an opportunity to develop their English skills, network with other teachers, visit local schools and learn more about British culture.

An Anglolang Academy spokesperson said:

We have been successfully running EU funded teacher training programmes for over 14 years, most recently the Erasmus Plus KA1 programme. This enables our school to operate year-round in a highly seasonal marketplace, thus providing employment and income to staff and accommodation providers in Scarborough, not to mention the extra spending in the local economy and leisure venues.

Additionally, the resulting intercultural awareness and understanding has benefitted local people and Europeans alike and enabled us to cooperate and network together for our mutual benefit.

The Erasmus+ programme, which offers international exchanges for students, provides funding for education, youth, training and support projects up to 2020. The UK is a key country in the programme, with 35,000 higher education students and staff coming here under the Erasmus programme in 2016.

To ensure that the UK continues to benefit from this, the government has guaranteed that – subject to discussions with the EU commission – that funding will be available for UK institutions for projects which are agreed before 2020, so they can continue with any Erasmus+ programmes they are involved in where possible.