New European Union sanctions have been announced today (Friday 2 February), targeting three South Sudanese former and current officials responsible for serious human rights violations and obstructions of the political process.

Paul Malong, Malek Reuben Riak and Michael Makuei Leuth will now be subject to sanctions by all EU member states, effective immediately.

This action comes ahead of the start of new peace talks hosted by Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Monday 5 February. These talks aim to restart the peace process following the repeated breaches of the cessation of hostilities agreed between South Sudanese government and opposition forces in December 2017.

Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

It is more vital than ever that those undermining the process recognise the price of their actions. The UK has played a leading role in pushing for these sanctions at an EU level and it is right that we are taking tough action against those who continue to act against the interests of the South Sudanese people.

We remain committed to supporting the peace process and urge South Sudan’s leaders to participate in good faith to agree a political solution and end the suffering of their people.

Conflict has devastated South Sudan, causing a humanitarian, political and economic crisis. Over one and a half million people are on the brink of famine – twice as many as the same time last year. Over four million people, a third of South Sudan’s population, have fled their homes causing Africa’s largest refugee crisis.

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Solar loops after eruption. Credit: ESA/ROB.

Body worn camera footage captured by Environment Agency officers on patrol has been used to support a conviction for the first time.

Callum Bell, 26, of Lyndsey Street in Houghton-Le-Spring, was fined for obstructing Fisheries Enforcement officers during an incident at Ouston near Chester-le-Street in June last year.

The footage shows Bell using insulting and threatening behaviour towards the two officers as they investigated an illegal fishing offence.

He appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 31 January, where he pleaded guilty to two offences of wilfully obstructing the officers in the execution of their duty, and two offences of using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour towards the two officers. He was fined £534 and ordered to pay costs of £530.

In a separate offence from the same incident, David Daniel Bilverstone, 23, of Northlands in Chester-le-Street was charged with fishing without a licence. He failed to appear and the case was proved in his absence. He was fined £110 and ordered to pay costs of £180.

Threatening towards officers

Acting on behalf of the Environment Agency, Chris Bunting told the court that on 18 June last year, the enforcement officers were carrying out a patrol of the freshwater lake Ouston Springs. They saw Bilverstone fishing with a rod and Bell seemingly asleep on the bankside.

One of the enforcement officers took Bilverstone aside to fill in an offence report form. He said he goes sea fishing and claimed he didn’t know he needed a licence.

At this point Bell awoke and walked towards where the officers were standing by the lake side. It was apparent he was affected by alcohol. He quickly became aggressive and threatening towards the two officers.

He tried to grab the offence report book, threatened to push them in the lake and twice lunged towards one of the officers, trying to grab the officer’s baton from its holster. Over the course of several minutes he continued to be verbally abusive, repeatedly swearing and making threats.

Even after the officers had finished dealing with the illegal fishing offence, he continued to shout abuse towards them from across the lake.

When interviewed, Bell said he was drunk and hadn’t meant to obstruct the officers. In court, he offered an unreserved apology for his actions.

‘Safety of staff is paramount’

Rachael Caldwell, Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader for the north east, said:

Bell was told on more than one occasion that he was being recorded by the cameras but he continued to be threatening and abusive.

Our officers are doing an important job to ensure people are fishing legally and taking action against those that aren’t. The safety of our staff is paramount and they shouldn’t have to put up with any kind of abusive or threatening behaviour.

This is the first time cameras worn by our officers have been used to support a conviction. Our preference is to prevent hostility in the first place and I hope this serves as a warning to others that their actions are being recorded and will be used in future court proceedings. Hopefully people will think twice before acting in such a way.

Environment Agency enforcement officers in the north east first trialled the use of body worn cameras last year to help reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour, assaults and threats against staff. It’s expected they will be rolled out to teams elsewhere in the country in the coming months.

The cameras – which are the norm among many enforcement agencies – can be used in a variety of ways, including at visits to poor performing waste sites, illegal waste sites, during fisheries and navigation patrols and even during incident response.

Officers must follow clear guidelines on use of the cameras, including telling people they are being filmed, and deleting any footage after a month unless it is used for evidential purposes.

The scheme, which launched in 2014, helps to give patients with life threatening or seriously debilitating conditions earlier access to new and innovative treatments.

Medicines developers, including research organisations, can apply for a PIM designation if they have evidence to support that a medicinal product is likely to offer major advantage for patients. Upon designation, the application can then proceed to a scientific opinion assessment which leads to patient access in the NHS.

EAMS is a key part of our commitment to accelerating patient access to innovative treatments and supporting the UK life sciences environment. Between April 2014 and December 2017, 18 positive scientific opinions have been awarded in a number of different clinical areas with unmet medical need.

Dr Ian Hudson, Chief Executive Officer at MHRA said:

Reaching this milestone means 50 new indications from promising medicinal products have emerged in the last four years alone. As a result, current and future patients will be able to access potentially life-saving drugs that they may not have otherwise had the chance to have.

We are delighted with the success of the scheme, to date, which is part of our priority to ensure, new, good quality, safe and efficacious innovative treatments are available to patients at the earliest opportunity.

After carefully considering the field of candidates who applied through an open recruitment exercise that was launched in July 2017, the Prime Minister has taken the decision to re-run the competition to appoint the Chair of the National Citizen Service (NCS), under paragraph 3.2 of the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

A new campaign will launch in due course, and will be focused towards identifying a candidate with appropriate commercial experience, or experience of setting direction and supporting an organisation to develop.

Government is committed to the continued development of the NCS programme. The new Chair will lead NCS through a period of organisational change, so it is vital that we find the right candidate for the job.