Announcement of the UK State Visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

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The British High Commission in Pretoria welcomes the news that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will pay a State Visit to the UK.

The British High Commission in Pretoria has welcomed the news that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom to meet The King and The Queen Consort.

This is the first invitation of a State Visit made by His Majesty King Charles III.

British High Commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson said:

I am delighted that President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Dr Tshepo Motsepe, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty King Charles III to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from Tuesday, 22 November to Thursday, 24 November 2022. The King and The Queen Consort will host the State Visit at Buckingham Palace.

This will be the first State Visit hosted by His Majesty. It reflects the importance of the relationship between South Africa and the United Kingdom. The visit will offer a chance to celebrate our modern-day partnerships delivering prosperity and security for both countries, as well as to set out how we can work together bilaterally and globally to strengthen those links for the future.

Over the next few weeks the British High Commission will work closely with the Presidency, the Department for International Relations and Cooperation, and the South African government to finalise the details of the President’s State Visit.

His Majesty The King has visited South Africa on a number of occasions. His Majesty’s first visit was to Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town from 31 October to 5 November 1997. The King and The Queen Consort also visited Pretoria and Johannesburg from 2 to 6 November 2011. The King and Queen Consort also attended the funeral of President Nelson Mandela on 15 December 2013.

Her Late Majesty The Queen invited President Nelson Mandela to pay a State Visit to the UK in July 1996. She also invited President Thabo Mbeki to pay a State Visit to the UK in June 2001, and President Jacob Zuma to pay a State Visit to the UK in March 2010.

The press release from Buckingham Palace announcing the State Visit can be found here: Announcement of the State Visit by the President of South Africa (PDF, 156 KB, 2 pages).

Further details of the State Visit programme will be announced in due course.

Published 18 October 2022



Second Permanent Secretary appointed at BEIS

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Clive Maxwell has been appointed second Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Clive Maxwell

Clive Maxwell

The Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has today (18 October 2022) announced, with the approval of the Prime Minister, that Clive Maxwell has been appointed as the new second Permanent Secretary at BEIS. Clive is currently Director General, High Speed Rail, at the Department for Transport.

The second permanent secretary will provide leadership across the whole breadth of the department’s delivery portfolio, ensuring the department has the expertise and experience to deliver across a wide range of programmes, from energy support this winter to longer term investments.

The Secretary of State, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said:

Clive brings a wealth of experience to the new position of second permanent secretary at the department. BEIS has much to deliver for consumers and businesses, from vital support for energy bills to securing essential economic growth, and Clive will ensure this work is delivered successfully.

Permanent Secretary, Sarah Munby, said:

Clive is a fantastic addition to the team and will help ensure we’re successful in delivering one of the most challenging and diverse portfolios in government. His recent experience leading one of the government’s very largest delivery programmes, HS2, will be invaluable and I look forward to working with him and welcoming him to the team.

Clive Maxwell said:

I’m delighted and excited to be joining BEIS, and playing a part in its vital work supporting economic growth and reform of energy markets. I’m looking forward to using my experience to help the Department with one of the biggest delivery portfolios in government.

Clive has been Director General, High Speed Rail at the Department of Transport, since 2017.

He has held Senior Civil Service roles across numerous departments since 2000, including:

  • Director General, Energy Transformation, DECC / BEIS (2014-2017)
  • Chief Executive, Office for Fair Trading (2012-2014)

Clive will start in post in November.

Published 18 October 2022



Ensuring security of electricity supplies for winter 2022 to 2023

Published 27 May 2022
Last updated 18 October 2022 + show all updates

  1. Letter from BEIS Secretary of State to the UK Country Chairman at Uniper.

  2. Added letter to staff and management of Drax.

  3. Added letter to staff and management of West Burton A.

  4. First published.



CMA orders Meta to sell Giphy

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that Meta’s takeover of Giphy could allow Meta to limit other social media platforms’ access to GIFs, making those sites less attractive to users and less competitive. It also found the deal has removed Giphy as a potential challenger in the UK display advertising market, preventing UK businesses from benefiting from innovation in this market.

The CMA published its original Phase 2 decision on this case in November 2021, finding that the deal could harm social media users and UK advertisers, and ordering Meta to sell Giphy. Meta subsequently appealed that decision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). In July 2022, the CAT upheld the CMA’s decision on 5 of the 6 challenged grounds. In particular, the CAT said it had “no hesitation” in concluding the CMA’s finding – that the merger substantially reduced dynamic competition – was lawful.

The Tribunal only found in Meta’s favour on a procedural ground relating to the sharing of third-party confidential information. In light of the finding, the CMA reconsidered its decision. The CMA has conducted an expedited review and is issuing its final decision today.

Over the past 3 months, an independent CMA panel has analysed additional third-party evidence, as well as new submissions from Meta and Giphy. Following its review, the CMA concluded Meta would be able to increase its already significant market power by:

  • denying or limiting other social media platforms’ access to Giphy GIFs, thereby pushing people to Meta-owned sites, which already make up 73% of user time spent on social media in the UK, or
  • changing the terms of access – for example, it could require Giphy customers, such as TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat, to provide more data from UK users in order to access Giphy GIFs

The CMA found that GIFs continue to be an important driver of user engagement on social media platforms, with people making billions of searches globally each month for Giphy GIFs.

The CMA also found the merger would negatively impact the display advertising market. Before the merger, Giphy was offering innovative advertising services in the US and was considering expanding to other countries, including the UK. These services allowed businesses, such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Pepsi, to promote their brands through visual images and GIFs.

The CMA found that Giphy’s advertising services had the potential to compete with those of Meta, and would have encouraged greater innovation from Meta and other market players. However, Meta terminated Giphy’s advertising services upon acquisition, removing a potential ad tool for UK businesses. The CMA considers this particularly concerning given Meta controls almost half of the £7 billion display advertising market in the UK.

The CMA has concluded the only way to avoid the significant impact the deal would have on competition is for Giphy to be sold off in its entirety to an approved buyer.

Stuart McIntosh, Chair of the independent inquiry group carrying out the remittal investigation, said:

This deal would significantly reduce competition in 2 markets. It has already resulted in the removal of a potential challenger in the UK display ad market, while also giving Meta the ability to further increase its substantial market power in social media.

The only way this can be addressed is by the sale of Giphy. This will promote innovation in digital advertising, and also ensure UK social media users continue to benefit from access to Giphy.

For more information, visit the Meta/Giphy case page.

  1. For media queries, please contact the press office on press@cma.gov.uk or on 020 3738 6460.
  2. Members of the general public can contact the CMA for information about this update on 020 3738 6000 or general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk.
  3. The CMA found that the merger would lead to a Substantial Lessening of Competition (SLC) in the following markets: (i) social media services worldwide (including in the UK) due to foreclosure of rival social media platforms; and (ii) display advertising in the UK due to a loss of dynamic competition.
  4. Meta was known as Facebook, Inc until October 2021 when the company changes its corporate name.
  5. The Competition Appeal Tribunal issued its judgment on Meta’s appeal on 14 June 2022.


Inspection report published: An inspection of juxtaposed controls, April – May 2022

News story

This inspection team visited the UK Border Force juxtaposed controls at Paris Gare du Nord and Coquelles. The report makes 3 recommendations.

UK Border Sign

Publishing the report, David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), said:

I welcome the publication of this report, which examined the quality of decision making at juxtaposed controls. Inspectors conducted a sample of 109 Border Force records for passengers subjected to further examination at all juxtaposed controls throughout March 2022, and visited Paris Gare du Nord and Coquelles, France, to observe practices on the ground.

Overall, this inspection found that staff were generally doing an effective job and that decision making was generally conducted in line with guidance, policy and the Immigration Rules, though this was caveated by the fact that poor record keeping sometimes made it difficult to tell whether a decision was correct. I was particularly pleased to see that the principles of the ‘ethical decision-making model’ were being applied.

I made three recommendations. First, on improving record keeping and ensuring the rationale underpinning decisions was clearly articulated. Second, on introducing guidance and policy instructions for Border Force staff on the use of ‘elect to embark’, which I found was currently being applied inconsistently and possibly incorrectly. Finally, in light of transparency data that suggested Romanian nationals are subjected to greater levels of questioning at juxtaposed controls than other nationals, I recommended that the Home Office conduct a review to ascertain on what grounds particular nationalities were being subjected to greater levels of scrutiny.

It is disappointing that, of the three recommendations made, one has been rejected, and two were only partially accepted on the basis of the Home Office being unable to meet the stated timeframe for implementation. This was partly due to the Home Office already having some projects in train (such as the Border Crossing project), though receipt of my report does not appear to have influenced a more rapid introduction of this technical solution.

Further, it is disappointing that the Home Office has rejected my recommendation regarding the disparate treatment of certain nationalities at the juxtaposed controls. While I accept that immigration functions are exempt from certain elements of the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Home Office has provided an assurance that passengers are not being targeted on the basis of nationality, my inspectors could not be satisfied that the current approach taken by Border Force in respect of the questioning and examination of arriving passengers of certain nationalities at juxtaposed controls could be objectively justified.

Published 18 October 2022