The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy accepted disqualification undertakings from Tuncay Saglam (51) and Leyla Saglam (50) meaning neither shall not be a director of a company whether directly or indirectly, or be involved in the management of a company in any way for seven years unless they have permission from court.

The disqualifications follow collaboration between the Insolvency Service and HMRC, whose investigations established that Mr and Mrs Saglam caused or allowed the company to submit inaccurate statutory VAT returns to HMRC by the deliberate suppression of sales income being to their benefit.

An in depth HMRC investigation revealed that the company had failed to record all of its cash takings and had therefore under-declared the VAT. As a result, HMRC raised a VAT assessment including interest and civil penalties of over £168,000. Additionally, HMRC also reassessed the company’s Corporation Tax liability to be in excess of £210,000 and raised Corporation Tax penalties in excess of £141,000.

At liquidation, HMRC stated that the company owed in excess of £545,000 in relation to arrears of VAT, PAYE and National Insurance Contributions, and Corporation Tax.

Commenting on the disqualification, Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Investigations with the Insolvency Service said:

The periods of these disqualifications sends a clear message to other company directors that tax abuse of any kind, particularly when it comes to suppression of cash takings by directors will not be tolerated.

Defrauding the Exchequer of taxes, deprives the public services of much needed funds required to ensure the public receives the services it rightfully deserves.

The Insolvency Service will therefore not hesitate to take action against directors so they cannot abuse limited liability provided by trading through a company.

Notes to editors

Tuncay Saglam (date of birth January 1966) and Leyla Saglam (date of birth December 1967), both of London, were directors of Mr Cod Morden Ltd (Company No. 06649655), which was incorporated in July 2008.
Mr and Mrs Saglam have been disqualified for a period of 7 years each from 5 January 2018 having given undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

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

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• 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]( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-insolvency-effect-of-a-disqualification-order

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

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

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Following on from last year, Dstl has continued to expand its apprenticeship scheme, this year offering opportunities for 18 year olds and beyond. This includes the chance to gain a degree and other qualifications while in employment, with a competitive salary and 25 days paid annual leave.

Jade Ward, Dstl’s Apprenticeship Adviser said:

“Dstl has a proven track record of successful apprenticeship programmes. We offer a pathway to earn while you learn while gaining real hands-on work experience without the debt of going to university. We are proud to offer these opportunities supporting the Government’s 2020 vision of getting up to three million people enrolled on apprenticeship schemes across the UK.”

26 year-old Louise, a first year electrical engineering apprentice, said:

“I have just started my apprenticeship with Dstl and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I was not academically inclined at school, and so was a little concerned, but I have not once felt that I cannot keep up – the tutors are really great and I definitely don’t feel disadvantaged.”

Dstl employee 20 year-old Zac said:

“I have recently graduated from the apprenticeship and have secured a permanent job. Throughout the apprenticeship I learnt lots of new techniques and skills, which gave me a good foot in to the group I am now working in.”

The Dstl apprenticeship scheme is a mix of formal classroom-based study alongside practical hands-on training in our workshop, laboratory and office facilities.

Apprentices are based at sites in Porton Down, near Salisbury and Portsdown West, near Fareham. Dstl has a diverse, inclusive workforce and welcomes applications from all backgrounds to apply.

To find out how to register visit Dstl Apprenticeship Opportunities

Environment Agency officers are continuing to investigate and monitor the impact on the local environment following an accidental chemical spillage at an industrial unit on Adams Close, Heanor, Derbyshire. The accident caused a spill of around 400 litres of liquid cyanide, some of which leaked into a nearby pond.

The incident happened on Tuesday 6 February and Environment Agency officers were immediately on the scene along with colleagues from Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, Severn Trent Water and Derbyshire County Council to manage the spill and minimise the risk to the environment.

Environment Agency officers are now in their third day at the scene and are continuing to take water samples and are assessing any potential environmental impacts this spill has had on the local watercourses and ponds.

Penny Thorpe, Area Duty Manager at the Environment Agency said:

Our officers have been on site since the incident occurred on Tuesday and have worked alongside Derbyshire Fire and Rescue and Derbyshire County Council to contain the spillage in order to minimise any effects on the environment and wildlife in the surrounding area.

A temporary dam has been created in order to stop the spillage leaving the pond and to prevent any further contamination and our officers will continue to monitor the environment for any other impacts from this spillage.

We have taken water samples from Adam’s pond and the brook further upstream to help us establish the best way to clear the environment of any contaminates that may remain, we will also be investigating the cause of this spill and following up with action as necessary.

Our staff work 24/7 to protect people and wildlife from pollution incidents, if you see pollution in your local river, call our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

Latest update

Seasonal flu levels remain high but are continuing to stabilise across the UK.

The latest Public Health England (PHE) report published at 2pm today, Thursday 8 February 2018, shows that seasonal flu continues to circulate across the UK and rates across most indicators remain stable. The statistics show over the last week there has been a 17% reduction in the GP consultation rate with flu-like illness, a 14% reduction in the flu hospitalisation rate, and a 10% reduction in the flu intensive care admission rate. The main strains circulating continue to be flu A(H3N2) and flu B.

The report also shows that in weeks 50, 2017 to week 5 of 2018, statistically significant excess mortality from all causes continues to be observed in over-65s in England, this is currently similar to the excess mortality observed last season and lower than in 2014 to 2015. These excess deaths cannot with certainty be attributed to specific causes, but flu and the very cold weather that some areas have seen since Christmas are likely to be contributing factors.

Richard Pebody, Acting Head of the Respiratory Diseases Department at PHE said:

We are continuing to see flu circulate, with signs that flu activity is stabilising.

Rates of vaccination across all those eligible for the vaccine have increased on last season and we have vaccinated an additional one and a half million people. We are currently seeing a mix of flu types, including the A(H3N2) strain that circulated last winter in the UK and then in Australia and flu B.

It is important to practice good respiratory and hand hygiene and to get the vaccine if you are newly eligible, although we are now coming to the end of the vaccine season.

Previous updates

Thursday 1 February 2018

Seasonal flu levels remain high but are stabilising in the last week across the UK.

The latest Public Health England (PHE) report published at 2pm today, Thursday 1 February 2018, shows that seasonal flu continues to circulate across the UK, with rates across most indicators remaining stable. The statistics show over the last week there has been a stabilisation in the GP consultation rate with flu-like illness, a 7% reduction in the flu hospitalisation rate, and a 26% reduction in the flu intensive care admission rate. The main strains circulating continue to be flu A(H3N2), A(H1N1) and Flu B.

The report also shows that in weeks 50, 2017 to week 4 of 2018, statistically significant excess mortality from all causes continues to be observed in over-65s in England, although this currently remains lower than the excess mortality observed last season and in 2014 to 2015. These excess deaths cannot with certainty be attributed to specific causes, but flu and the very cold weather that some areas have seen since Christmas are likely to be contributing factors.

The ‘Catch It, Bin It, Kill It’ campaign continues to run across digital, radio and press advertising platforms to inform the public about the steps they can take to protect themselves and reduce spread of the virus by practising good respiratory hand hygiene.

Richard Pebody, Acting Head of the Respiratory Diseases Department at Public Health England said:

We are continuing to see flu circulate, with signs that flu activity is stabilising.

Rates of vaccination across all those eligible for the vaccine have increased on last season and we have vaccinated an additional one and a half million people. We are currently seeing a mix of flu types, including the A(H3N2) strain that circulated last winter in the UK and then in Australia and flu B.

The best form of protection against flu is to get the vaccine if you are eligible and to practice good respiratory and hand hygiene, although we are now coming to the end of the vaccine season.

Whilst this is the most significant flu season since 2010 to 2011 in terms of GP activity, the ICU indicators taken overall suggest that it is less severe at this stage than 2010 to 2011. And in terms of the impact on excess mortality, we have not reached yet the levels seen in 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2017.

The flu virus can live for many hours on hard surfaces and therefore practising good hand hygiene can limit the spread of germs and transmission of flu. People are advised to catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue, bin it, and then wash their hands afterwards to kill the germs. Practising good hand hygiene and giving eligible people the flu vaccine is the best defence against the virus.

People suffering with flu-like symptoms should catch coughs or sneezes in tissues and bin them immediately, wash their hands regularly with soap and warm water and frequently clean regularly used surfaces to stop the spread of flu. Avoid having unnecessary contact with other people if you or they have symptoms of flu.
Seasonal flu usually circulates for several weeks each year. The intensity of circulation depends upon the underlying population immunity, the circulating viruses and external factors such as the weather. It is an unpredictable virus and it is not possible to anticipate how flu levels will progress.

Amongst other diseases like norovirus that normally increase during winter, seasonal flu puts extra pressure on the NHS every year.

The latest data is available online. Currently 72.4% of adults over 65, 48.7% of adults with a long-term health condition, 47.1% of pregnant women, 44% of 3-year-olds, 42.6% of 2-year-olds and 63.9% of healthcare workers have received the vaccine.

The region has the potential to exploit opportunities from future growth industries such as carbon, capture usage and storage (CCUS), district heating and the hydrogen economy.

The UK government has made a firm commitment to regeneration and clean energy production in the Teesside area, with an ambition for 25,000 new jobs and over £1 billion of investment across a 10-year period, and today, the minister spoke about making that a reality.

Energy Minister Claire Perry said:

Today I have seen the exciting opportunities here to regenerate this iconic site, and, crucially, bring skilled jobs and clean growth to the area. I look forward to seeing the development of these proposals to develop and breathe new life into this site.

The government has already invested substantial amounts in the area and the Autumn Budget set out a further £123 million of funding to continue work to secure the site. Today, the minister met Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, the Local Enterprise Partnership, Clean Growth investors, the South Tees Development Company and members of the South Tees Site Company as well as taking a tour of the former steel site at Redcar and Cleveland.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said:

Our concentration of industry along the coastline perfectly places the region as the go-to location for green energy proposals such as Carbon Capture and Storage. It is fantastic that government recognises our industrial strengths and has reaffirmed their commitment to developing this transformational proposal. I was delighted to share our ambitious plans with the minister today, and made clear to her that Teesside is ready and waiting to take this forward.

A move to low-carbon, clean energy offers a remarkable economic opportunity for our area and the UK as a whole. Our projects would attract inward investment, create jobs and put Tees Valley at the forefront of the clean energy revolution. Now we need to work constructively with government to push ahead and make these schemes a reality.

The site is of particular interest in the development of carbon capture usage and storage – which aims to capture carbon dioxide emitted from industry and power plants for permanent storage under the North Sea. This game-changing technology and many more exciting projects were discussed as part of today’s visit.

Business Minister Richard Harrington was also in Teesside today setting out his vision through a keynote speech to workers, industry and local MPs at Community Union’s Steel Sector Conference. The minister talked about his commitment to steelmaking regions across the UK and the importance of putting the sector at the heart of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

Last year, the government set out its plan for growth and regeneration across the UK with its Industrial Strategy aiming for an economy that boosts productivity and earning power throughout the UK. A key part of that is growing new jobs, and Teesside has a crucial role to play.

Notes to editors

Photos and videos of the visit are available by contacting gillian.capewell@beis.gov.uk.