Joint Statement on Pride Month by the Ambassadors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Charge d’ Affaires of Lithuania and the United States.

“We, the undersigned Ambassadors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Charge d’ Affaires of Lithuania and the United States, celebrate Pride Month by affirming the inherent human rights of each individual as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community. Unfortunately, LGBTQI+ individuals throughout the world continue to face violence, harassment, and discrimination simply because of who they are or whom they love.

This June, we celebrate Pride Month by applauding the accomplishments of LGBTQI+ activists and their allies, all of whom are working to ensure that every individual, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics, receives the full protection of the law. Human rights are universal and everyone, including LGBTQI+ persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment”.

Ambassador Graeme Meehan, Australia

Ambassador Alison LeClaire, Canada

Ambassador Árni Þór Sigurðsson, Iceland

Ambassador Brian McElduff, Ireland

Charge d’Affaires Virginija Umbrasienė, Lithuania

Ambassador Sarah Walsh, New Zealand

Ambassador Malena Mård, Sweden

Ambassador Deborah Bronnert, United Kingdom

Charge d’Affaires Elizabeth Rood, United States

The UK will provide another £1 billion of military support to Ukraine, the Prime Minister has announced at the NATO Leaders’ Summit today (Thursday 30th June).

This uplift to funding will herald a new phase in the international community’s support to Ukraine. It will go towards capabilities including sophisticated air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers.

It represents the first step in enabling Ukraine to go beyond their valiant defence against the illegal Russian invasion to mounting offensive operations against Russian ground forces in order to restore Ukrainian sovereignty

The UK is leading the way in providing vital military assistance to Ukraine. Today’s announcement brings the total UK military support since the outbreak of war to £2.3 billion – more than any country other than the United States. Support so far includes more than 5,000 NLAW anti-tank missiles made in Northern Ireland, long-range multiple launch rocket systems, artillery systems, including 155mm self propelled guns, and rapid design and production of short to medium range persistent loitering munitions by a UK start-up company.

Last week the Prime Minister also announced the UK was offering a comprehensive new training programme to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, helping them build long-term endurance in the face of continuing Russian barbarism.

The UK’s support to Ukraine represents the highest rate of UK military spending on a conflict since the height of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Speaking at a special meeting of NATO leaders addressed by President Zelenskyy yesterday the Prime Minister called on allies to step up their support to provide the strategic resilience Ukraine needs.

The Prime Minister said:

Putin’s brutality continues to take Ukrainian lives and threaten peace and security across Europe.

As Putin fails to make the gains he had anticipated and hoped for and the futility of this war becomes clear to all, his attacks against the Ukrainian people are increasingly barbaric.

UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine’s defences against this onslaught. And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.

As well as bolstering and sustaining the Ukrainian Armed Forces, UK military support is supporting the thriving UK defence industry. Last week the Defence Secretary gathered representatives of the UK defence sector in Downing Street to discuss how to boost production in response to the increased demand created by the conflict in Ukraine.

UK defence companies are stepping up to provide the vital support Ukraine needs. We have provided £100 million worth of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles through a company based in Berkshire. These orders have allowed the company to significantly upscale their production and have used the lessons from the conflict in Ukraine to inform development of their products, advancing several years of development which will directly benefit both the UK and the defence industry.

The MoD has also launched a £25 million innovation fund to harness niche technologies within UK small & medium size enterprises. The fund will accelerate the development of equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces with the competition focusing on bolstering the existing provision for artillery, coastal defence and aerial systems.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

Britain’s commitment to Ukraine is real and constant and we will stand by them until Russia changes course. This military assistance will help them intensify their fight against Russian aggression and ensure they have the defence capabilities they need.

The UK’s military support for Ukraine is in addition to the £1.5billion of humanitarian and economic support provided to the country since February.

This support for Ukraine is in addition to the new commitments the Prime Minister announced to NATO’s collective defences at the Summit yesterday.

The Captain Tom Foundation was registered on 5 June 2020, following the fundraising efforts of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore at the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. It is registered as a grant-making charity, for the advancement of public health and wellbeing.

The Commission opened a case into the charity in March 2021. It has now escalated its engagement due to newly identified concerns about arrangements between the charity and a company linked to the Ingram-Moore family, as well as ongoing concerns about the trustees’ decision making and the charity’s governance.

The Commission is concerned that a failure to consider intellectual property and trade mark issues when the charity was established provided Club Nook Limited, a private company controlled by Hannah Ingram-Moore and Colin Ingram-Moore, the opportunity to trade mark variations of the name ‘Captain Tom’ without objection from the charity. This may have generated significant profit for the company.

The inquiry, which opened on 16 June, will examine whether the trustees have:

1. been responsible for mismanagement and/or misconduct in the administration of the charity and whether, as a result, the charity has suffered any financial losses, including through any unauthorised private benefit to any of the current or previous trustees;
2. adequately managed conflicts of interest, including with private companies connected to the Ingram-Moore family;
3. complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law.

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional issues emerge.

Helen Stephenson, CEO of the Charity Commission, said:

The late Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired the nation with his courage, tenacity and concern for others. It is vital that public trust in charity is protected, and that people continue to feel confident in supporting good causes.

We do not take any decision to open an inquiry lightly, but in this case our concerns have mounted. We consider it in the public interest to examine them through a formal investigation, which gives us access to the full range of our protective and enforcement powers.

Previous Engagement

Prior to the inquiry opening, the Commission engaged with the charity on the following issues:

• In March 2021 the charity requested the regulator’s permission to employ Hannah Ingram-Moore, a former trustee, on a salary of £60,000 per year, for 3 days a week. The Commission requested evidence of the benchmarking exercise undertaken.
• The charity provided the Commission with this evidence and a revised proposal to appoint Hannah Ingram-Moore on a salary of £100,000 on a full-time basis.
• In July 2021 the regulator refused permission to employ Hannah Ingram-Moore as chief executive on a salary of £100,000, considering the proposed salary neither reasonable nor justifiable.
• In August 2021 the Commission permitted the charity to appoint Hannah Ingram-Moore as interim CEO on a salary of £85,000 per year, on a 3-month rolling contract, for a maximum of 9 months whilst the trustees conducted an open recruitment process. This period has now ended and the charity has recruited a new CEO.

The Commission’s case had identified potential concerns about payments of consultancy fees and payments to related third parties revealed in the charity’s accounts, published in February 2022. However, based on the information and evidence provided by the trustees, the Commission was satisfied that these specific payments are reasonable reimbursement for expenses incurred by the companies in the formation of the charity. It is also satisfied that any conflicts of interest in relation to these third-party payments were adequately identified and managed

The £38million raised by the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, and donated to a separate charity, NHS Charities Together, prior to the formation of The Captain Tom Foundation is not part of the scope of this inquiry.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
2. The Commission has no regulatory concerns about NHS Charities Together.
3. Hannah Ingram-Moore was a trustee from 1st February 2021 until 15th March 2021, when she resigned as a trustee. Colin Ingram-Moore became a trustee on 1st February 2021 and remains a trustee.
4. The Commission has not made any conclusions and the opening of the inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.

Speaking at the Devon County Show, Environment Secretary, George Eustice, will announce further funding for research projects that will help boost farmers’ businesses and help improve the environmental impact of farming.

The recent Food Strategy committed to spend £270 million on research and development in the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2029. This Programme is designed to bring together farmers, growers, businesses and researchers for collaborative, industry-led research and development that will drive up the productivity, profitability and resilience of England’s farming sectors, whilst helping to improve the environment.

The Environment Secretary will confirm that in July, £12.5m from the Farming Innovation Programme will be set aside for research and development focused on ‘sustainable farm-based proteins’, in partnership with UKRI this funding will be made available for farmers, growers, businesses and academics to collaborate on projects that seek to improve the efficiency and sustainability of farm-based protein production, including protein crops like beans and peas and traditional livestock production, in order to help boost domestic production of healthy and sustainable food.

This might be achieved through the development of new methane reducing feeds and supplements, or the breeding of new sustainable and resilient crops and livestock.

The Environment Secretary will also showcase an example of innovative technology that is helping farmers capture the methane from slurry stores and turn it into biomethane, creating an additional income stream for farmers. Bennamann in Truro, Cornwall has pioneered this innovative approach building on world-leading science to help livestock farms of any size to cover their manure slurry lagoons, capture the fugitive emissions they produce, establish energy independence and improve business profitability through lower bills and sales of high value biomethane.

Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said:

Improving farm profitability and tackling environmental challenges requires us to allow the natural cycle of life to operate fully. Rather than seeing farm wastes like slurry as a problem and a cost, we need to start recognising that they are actually a resource that could be monetised to boost farm incomes.

Cornwall has a long history of pioneering new technology and it is at the forefront of new approaches that could revolutionise the way we manage farm yard manure to create a new income stream for farmers and generate a green fuel that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Bennamann is working with the Local Authority and six of its farms to turn waste methane into biomethane. The biogas results from the anaerobic digestion of manure stored in the slurry lagoon on each farm, which can then be processed into a sustainable, commercially viable product as compressed gas or liquid fuel. That fuel will be able to power lorries and tractors, heat households and businesses, provide hot water and even charge electric vehicles. The Council plans to run its road maintenance vehicle fleet on this greener source of fuel. There is even a New Holland methane tractor in production, with Bennamann able to supply the tractor’s fuel on farm at a fixed period discounted price from the waste on farm.

For a 150 head dairy farm, the system creates biomethane worth approximately £30,000 in additional income for the dairy farm and it removes about half of the methane generated by the herd, making a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.