Press release: Contractors fined over diesel leak at Christchurch Hospital

Kier Construction Limited (KIER), and their sub-contractor BKP Waste Recycling Limited (BKP), were sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on 12 January 2018 after earlier pleading guilty to an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

Kier Construction was commissioned by The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to carry out re-development work at Christchurch Hospital in February 2012. KIER appointed BKP Waste Recycling Limited to drain and remove oil from an oil supply line in the hospital grounds.

Oil escaped from a poorly-made connection in the oil supply pipework, which failed during routine testing of heating systems at the hospital in November 2014. The spillage polluted groundwater.

The case was bought by the Environment Agency at the end of a lengthy investigation that uncovered negligence on the part of both contractors.

Ian Withers of the Environment Agency said:

This pollution incident had the potential to cause serious harm to the environment and was entirely avoidable. The 2 companies failed to understand the extent of the work required and mitigate the risks. Construction companies must adhere to environmental permitting regulations to prevent their activities from affecting the local environment.

KIER was fined £100,000 with £30,301 costs for causing groundwater activity under regulation 38 (1) (a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. BKP was fined £10,200 for the same offence with £42,851 costs.

If you are concerned about pollution to water or land, contact our 24-hour incident line on 0800 807060.



News story: Penny Mordaunt calls for continued commercial and aid access throughout Yemen‎

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt in Djibouti with aid destined for Yemen. Picture: Benet Coulber/DFID

All parties to the conflict must continue to allow unhindered commercial and humanitarian access throughout Yemen to avert the risk of mass starvation, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt warned today. Yemen is the largest humanitarian catastrophe in the world and has left over three quarters of the Yemeni population in desperate need of assistance.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who visited Saudi Arabia and Djibouti in December to call for access and meet aid workers, said:

I heard about some of the heartbreaking tragedies suffered by Yemenis when I met with refugees and international aid workers last month.

I am pleased restrictions on access have since been eased at the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef, allowing 19 ships to deliver food and critical fuel. This is already saving lives by ensuring hospitals can continue delivering essential medical care, water can be pumped into major cities, grain can continue to be milled into flour and food transported to those most in need.

But the situation in Yemen remains dire and will deteriorate rapidly unless unhindered access is maintained, especially to the north of the country.

With Yemen importing 90% of its food and fuel, it’s essential that Hodeidah and Saleef ports remain fully open to help millions of people who are at risk of starving to death. We recognise Saudi Arabia’s legitimate security concerns and will continue to provide support to prevent illegal arms smuggling into Yemen – this does not require stopping humanitarian and commercial supplies from reaching those in need.

The UK Government strongly condemns the continued firing of ballistic missiles from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia. We continue to support Saudi Arabia to strengthen efforts to prevent the flow of illegal weapons by providing extra UK support to the UN’s Verification and Inspection Mechanism. We are also engaging with Saudi Arabia’s plans to develop an operational humanitarian plan for Yemen.

Since access reopened, 19 ships have been permitted to enter Hodeidah and Saleef ports, unloading 260,000MT of food and over 95,000MT of fuel. It is vital that commercial and humanitarian supplies of food, fuel and medicine are able to reach vulnerable Yemeni people, particularly in the north where 70% of those in need live. The UK is the second-largest humanitarian donor to the UN’s Yemen Appeal and third-largest donor overall, and will continue to support millions of Yemenis affected by the conflict.

Notes to Editors

  1. On 20 December, the coalition announced it would fully re-open Hodeidah port to vital commercial imports, including fuel. This was announced shortly after the Secretary of State visited Saudi Arabia.

  2. The UK’s £205 million of support this financial year (2017/18) is providing: enough food for 1.8 million people for at least a month; nutrition support for 1.7 million people; and clean water and sanitation for 1.2 million people. The latest package of UK support, announced by the International Development Secretary in December, will in addition provide enough food for 3.4 million people for at least a month and provide fuel to support the milling of enough wheat to feed a million people for over a year.

  3. The UK is providing £1.3m to the UN’s Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) to facilitate commercial shipping into Yemen’s Red Sea ports and provide assurances against weapons smuggling, and we have seconded British experts into UNVIM in Djibouti to assist with the inspections process.



News story: Parents and carers advised to inspect Buccolam oral syringes before use

In an alert issued last year, healthcare professionals were asked to speak to parents and carers about carefully inspecting Buccolam pre-filled plastic syringes before giving the medicine.

Buccolam is an epilepsy medicine, which is available as pre-filled oral syringes. A defect with some syringes has been reported. In a small number of cases, the translucent (white) tip-cap can sometimes remain attached to the syringe after the red cap has been taken off, this is a choking hazard.

Buccolam remains safe to use if the patient/carer instructions are followed. Carefully check the syringe before giving the medicine and remove the translucent tip-cap manually if it is still on the syringe after the red cap has been pulled off. A diagram explaining this can be found in the alert.

If you think the tip-cap is in the patient’s mouth, do not attempt to remove it. Instead, turn the patient onto their side (recovery position) and make sure they spit it out when they stop fitting.

This is not a new issue, MHRA previously issued this alert in December 2017. However, we are now aware of a few rare reports in Europe of a child breathing in or swallowing the tip-cap and the EMA have added guidance on their website.

We want to make sure parents and carers of children who are using Buccolam are aware of the practical steps to take should they need to dispense this medicine. Pharmacists who prescribe and dispense Buccolam have also been asked to share this information with parents and caregivers.

The manufacturer is working to resolve this issue for new syringes.

If patients, parents, or carers have any questions or want to report any side effects, they should talk to a doctor, pharmacist, or nurse. They should also tell them about any occasions in which the translucent tip-cap remained attached to the syringe.

Suspected side effects can also be reported directly to MHRA via the Yellow Card Scheme.



Press release: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Cambodia in June 2018

Ms Tina Redshaw has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Ms Tina Redshaw has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia in succession to Mr Bill Longhurst, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Ms Redshaw will take up her appointment in June 2018.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Tina Susan Redshaw

2016 – present Full time language training

2013 – 2016 Chongqing, Her Majesty’s Consul General

2011 – 2013 FCO, Deputy Head of Climate Change & Energy Department

2011 FCO, Head of Multilateral team, Asia Pacific Directorate

2007 – 2010 Beijing, Head of Energy, Environment & Infrastructure, UK Trade & Investment

2006 – 2007 FCO, Researcher for FCO Board

2003 – 2006 Timor Leste, Her Majesty’s Ambassador

2000 – 2003 Beijing, First Secretary

1999 – 2000 FCO, China, Hong Kong Department

1999 Joined FCO

Further information



News story: Refresco proposal to sell soft drink factory

Earlier this month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the proposed merger of the soft drink manufacturers could lead to higher prices for some supermarkets and leading household brands.

The CMA’s initial investigation into the £935 million ($1.25 billion) merger did not find any competition concerns for the majority of the companies’ products.

However, both companies supply juice drinks using a particular aseptic production process, which allows them to be sold preservative-free and without refrigeration. As only one other competitor in the UK currently supplies third parties with juice drinks using this production process the CMA is concerned that, after the merger, the combined business might be able to increase prices or lower quality standards.

Refresco has now offered to address the CMA’s concerns by selling the only UK-based Cott facility to use this production process. The factory, located in Nelson, Lancashire, would be sold to a purchaser approved by the CMA.

The CMA has accepted this offer in principle and now has until 14 March 2018 to decide whether to accept Refresco’s proposed undertakings or refer the merger for an in depth investigation.

All information relating to the merger is available on the case page.