Andrew Reed (53) was the director of APR Media, formerly known as APR Video, where he produced and duplicated recordable media since it was first incorporated in 1996.

However, when the company began to make a loss and after 16 years of trading, Andrew Reed instructed insolvency practitioners in October 2012 to place APR Media into creditors’ voluntary liquidation with a total deficiency of just over £800,000.

During the initial investigation into the company’s affairs, the insolvency practitioners could not account for around £125,000 which had been transferred out of APR Media’s accounts just a couple of months before it was placed into liquidation.

Further enquiries by the Insolvency Service found that Andrew Reed fraudulently transferred money out of APR Media in the full knowledge that the business was insolvent in order to avoid paying his creditors.

In August 2012, Andrew Reed paid himself a £100,000 dividend and in September 2012, he transferred £25,250 to M5 Audio & Events, a company where his wife was a director.

Andrew Reed pleaded guilty to two fraud charges and on 27 April 2018 he was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years, while also being ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £7,500 in costs.

The sentence was handed down despite the fact that Andrew Reed had paid back over £200,000 to the estate once the wrongful payments had been identified by the insolvency practitioner.

Glenn Wicks, Deputy Chief Investigation Officer of the Insolvency Service, said:

Andrew Reed knew his company was failing and unscrupulously ripped off his creditors by transferring money to his other company. The court has shown anyone doing this stands a serious chance of going to prison.

Notes to editors

APR Video Limited (Company number: 03239812) was incorporated on 20 August 1996 before it changed its name to APR Media in 2006.

On 19 March 2018 Andrew Reed pleaded guilty to two charges contrary to section 207(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 of undertaking transactions in fraud of APR Audio Limited’s creditors at Taunton Crown Court.

Insolvency Service

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

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

Contact Press Office

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Today government published a response to a consultation on trade secrets regulations. The consultation ended in March 2018.

The EU Trade Secrets Directive addresses differences in protection across the EU. It provides a definition of a trade secret. It also sets out measures, procedures and remedies for the courts.

The government response includes a summary of responses as well as next steps. A range of organisations and individuals responded. They include trade representatives, civil society organisations and legal professions. The government thanks all who responded to the technical consultation.

The Directive must be implemented by 9 June 2018. The government intends to lay regulations soon.

Ben Lowery, Technical capability lead, Sellafield Ltd recently lost his wife, Yvonne, after a battle with a rare form of cancer.

In this video, Ben tells us how he and Yvonne were supported by the Stronger Together cancer support group.

Stronger Together

The Stronger Together group holds monthly meetings and provides support for Sellafield employees who have been affected by cancer, whether that be their own battle or through a loved one. The group works in partnership with various groups including Macmillan Cancer Support.

Monthly meetings are held 13:00 – 15:00 on the first Tuesday of each month, anyone working for Sellafield is welcome to come along.

For further information on this group please contact Sam Pollen 07770 876201 or Sharon Reynolds 07736 796392.

A new injection of £10m of government money will help restore more than 10,000 football pitches-worth of England’s iconic peatlands.

Peat bogs and fens are important habitats that provide food and shelter for wildlife, help with flood management, improve water quality and play a part in climate regulation. The new funding will help deliver commitments in the Government’s flagship 25 Year Environment Plan to create a new ambitious framework for peat restoration in England.

The total area of 6,580 hectares of upland and lowland peatlands that these grants will support work on is equivalent to 10,613 football pitches. The work will be delivered through four local partnership projects and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions making their way into the atmosphere by creating a natural store for carbon.

This vital work will abate and store an estimated 23,000 tonnes of carbon per year contributing to the UK’s climate change goals.

A panel of experts and Defra officials assessed the projects and awarded the funding based on the potential for carbon abatement.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Peatlands are an iconic aspect of the English landscape which are not only a haven for wildlife but also provide us with clean water and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out the Government’s commitment to improve peatlands and grant schemes such as this one will enable us to leave our environment better than we inherited it.

Defra has allocated a total of £10 million between the four projects.

The North of England Peat Partnership led by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will restore 394 ha of lowland raised bog and 1679 ha of blanket bog across 21 peatland sites in the north of England.

Dr Tim Thom, Peat Programme Manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which co-ordinated the bid, said:

It’s fantastic to see peatlands on the Government’s agenda and getting the recognition they deserve – both in terms of the benefits they bring and the parlous condition we have let so many of them reach. I’m thrilled that our bid has been successful and I know I speak for all of our partners when I say I cannot wait to get started.

This funding will enable us to restore some of the most important and beautiful sites across the north of England – from England’s largest lowland raised bog in South Yorkshire all the way up to Northumberland’s highest point near the Scottish border – over 2,000 hectares of peatland will be repaired, locking up carbon, filtering our drinking water, managing flooding and providing habitat for some fascinating species.

The South West Peatlands Bid led by South West Water will be delivered through local partnerships.

The focus is on 1,680 ha of upland peat across Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor. To date very little of the peatland on Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor has been restored. Exmoor has had over 1,900 ha of restoration to date.

Morag Angus, Exmoor Mires Partnership Manager said:

This peatland grant from Defra presents a real opportunity to make a significant difference to deliver peatland restoration across Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor.

The peatlands of south-west England are very important for water quality, carbon storage, biodiversity, cultural history, recreation and farming but they are the most vulnerable in the UK to the impacts of climate change, due to their southerly position. Working with our partners in these three moors enables these nationally and internationally important habitats to be restored for the benefit of all and future generations.

Meres & Mosses Carbon Capture Project led by Shropshire Wildlife Trust aims to restore a mix of nine lowland and upland peatland sites covering 98 ha across the Meres & Mosses Natural Area.

John Hughes, Development Manager, Shropshire Wildlife Trust said:

The Mosses of Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire are one of the least known, but most ecologically important, suites of peatbogs. Our partnership is delighted that this Defra funding will allow us to carry out even more work in our mission to restore them to favourable condition.

Moor Carbon, led by the Peak District National Park Authority, will be working in the Peak District National Park, West Pennine Moors SSSI, and Rossendale Gap to restore over 2,000 hectares of blanket bog.

Chief Executive, Sarah Fowler, said:

We are delighted to have been awarded this funding from Defra; helping to achieve an early win for Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan. The project will deliver vital conservation work on more than 2,100 hectares of blanket bog in the UK’s original National Park. The work will help to reduce over 4,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide loss into the atmosphere every year. We are proud to play a role in helping to achieve the Government’s aspiring climate change targets.

As well as carbon storage, this innovative partnership project will provide a wealth of benefits to both people and animals. Work will help to improve the quality of the water that we consume; and enhance the precious home of rare birds and mammals. Bare peat re-vegetation and blocking eroded gullies on the moors will help to slow the flow of water when it rains; reducing the threat of flooding in local at-risk communities. The Partnership has a proven track-record of undertaking moorland conservation projects on such a large scale. We work together to help care for these stunning wild spaces that mean so much to so many people; and to ensure that they are protected for generations to come.

Photos of peatlands are on Defra’s Flickr account.

Alistair Burt said:

The violence today in Gaza and the West Bank has been shocking. The loss of life and the large number of injured Palestinians is tragic, and it is extremely worrying that the number of those killed continues to rise.

Such violence is destructive to peace efforts. We have been clear that the UK supports the Palestinians’ right to protest, but these protests must be peaceful.

It is deplorable that extremist elements may have been seeking to exploit these protests for their own violent purposes. We will not waver from our support for Israel’s right to defend its borders. But the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning. We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint.

The UK remains committed to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital. All sides now need to show real leadership and courage, promote calm, refrain from inflaming tensions further, and show with renewed urgency that the path to a two-state solution is through negotiation and peace.