Press release: Waste offender prosecuted in Blackburn

David Holt, former owner of V10 Polymers Ltd, received an eight month suspended sentence, ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and contribute £10K in costs.

A Director of a former Lancashire waste plastics recycling business has been sentenced to 8 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work after his company breached its environmental permit, failed to comply with enforcement notices and continued to deposit waste despite suspension and subsequent revocation of its permit.

David Holt, 50, of Brockhall Village, Blackburn, was sentenced on Thursday, 04 January 2018 at Preston Crown Court after admitting three environmental offences relating to the operation of the former V10 Polymers Ltd waste plastics recycling business at Rockcliffe Works, Paterson Street, Blackburn.

The Environment Agency became aware of problems at the site in 2012 after complaints from members of the public. At that time, V10 Polymers Ltd was operating a waste plastics recycling business from the Rockcliffe Works site.

Due to concerns about the way the site was being operated, the Environment Agency served a formal notice requiring the company to remove all controlled waste from the site. It also advised the company to apply for an environmental permit if it wished to continue waste operations at Rockwell Works.

The Environment Agency made clear that any permit issued would require storage of combustible waste at the site to be improved and meet minimum fire prevention standards.

David Holt made an application for a permit for the site and included detailed proposals as to how the waste would be stored in the future to meet the requirements of the permit. The Environment Agency issued an environmental permit to V10 Polymers Ltd in response to this application.

However, the first inspection of the facility following the issue of the permit in April 2014 revealed excessive quantities of plastic waste stored in a manner that presented a fire risk and in breach of the company’s environmental permit.

Due to the Environment Agency’s concerns about the fire risk, a number of joint inspections were undertaken with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services.

The Environment Agency sought to work with Mr Holt, who was in day to day charge of the company’s operations, to bring about improvements in the storage arrangements and implement a mandatory fire prevention plan at the site. However, Mr Holt failed to adequately respond to those interventions.

This led the Environment Agency to revoke the site’s environmental permit from February 2016, further requiring the company to take steps to remove all remaining waste from the site by 21 March 2016.

The Environment Agency decided to prosecute after the company continued to illegally operate, despite the revocation of its permit, and failed to tackle the fire risk posed by excessive stockpiles of waste.

Environment Agency Officer, Karl Hunter said:

The operators of waste recycling facilities have a legal duty to comply with the requirements of their environmental permit to prevent the risk of harm to people and the environment.

In this case, David Holt deliberately stored an excessive quantity of combustible waste for a number of years without taking the necessary fire prevention measures. He failed to implement a fire prevention plan and repeatedly failed to act on notices served by the Environment Agency to do so. Even when the Environment Agency revoked the company’s permit, he continued to accept waste into the site, illegally.

The fire at the site on 21 August 2017, and three subsequent fires have had a significant impact on local residents and businesses and demonstrated that our concerns were well-founded. In September 2017 we used our emergency powers to create fire breaks within the waste, which significantly reduced the size and duration of subsequent fires. Had David Holt produced and complied with an adequate fire prevention plan, installing fire breaks within the waste, it would have greatly reduced the consequences of fires at the site.

We hope the court’s sentencing decision demonstrates the importance of companies adhering to their environmental permits.

On hearing mitigation on David Holt’s behalf, the court accepted that David Holt had not been a fly by night operator and had been working hard to try and maintain the business and those employed by it. The court also acknowledged his good character and contribution to his local community.

V10 Polymers Ltd and the previous site owner, Holt Developments Ltd, are now both in liquidation and the site has been sold to Driftdale Limited, an Isle of Man based property development company.

The new owner is responsible for ensuring that waste is removed from the site and correctly disposed of. The Environment Agency is working with Driftdale Ltd and our partner organisations to ensure this is completed as soon as possible. The new owners must also take all necessary steps to prevent fire until waste is removed from the site and the company has constant manned security to minimise the risk of further fires.

If you witness suspicious activity or a fire at the site, please call the emergency services. Environmental incidents should be reported to our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

Mr Holt was also ordered to pay £10,000 towards the Environment Agency’s costs.

Press release: Chippy directors served with ten year ban

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Mr and Mrs Castrinakis, disqualifying them for five years from 10 December 2017.

An Insolvency Service investigation found Mr and Mrs Castrinakis caused or allowed the company to submit inaccurate statutory VAT returns to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Mr and Mrs Castrinakis’s disqualifications follow collaboration between the Insolvency Service and HMRC.

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 due to HMRC. As a result, HMRC raised a VAT assessment of £53,332.
At liquidation the company was stated as owing in excess of £164,000 to HMRC in relation to arrears of VAT, PAYE and National Insurance contributions and Corporation Tax.

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.

Much of the public service is funded by the correct amount of taxes being paid. By not declaring and paying the correct amount of taxes, the public has been deprived from receiving the services it deserves from the public sector. The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action against directors so they cannot abuse limited liability provided by trading through a company.

Gambino Fish Ltd (Company number 08645435) traded as Quality Fish, based in Central Parade, New Addington, Croydon.

Costas Castrinakis (date of birth July 1963) and Chrystalla Castrinakis (date of birth December 1966), and both of Thornton Heath, were directors of Gambino Fish Ltd, which was incorporated in August 2013.

Mr & Mrs Castrinakis have been disqualified for a period of 5 years each commencing from 1 December 2017.

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.

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.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Press release: 14 year disqualification for previously banned director, and 8 year ban for his mother

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Robert Patrick Murphy on 17 November 2017 that he would not act as a director for a period of 14 years, commencing from 8 December 2017.

Robert Patrick Murphy was disqualified from acting as a director for a period of four years from 12 September 2011, but an investigation by the Insolvency Service discovered that despite resigning as a director of Silverview Developments his role within the company did not change.

Mr Murphy’s mother, Ellen (also know as Eileen) Rosemary Murphy was appointed as the registered director and has also now been disqualified for eight years for allowing her son to act as a director whilst disqualified.

In addition, Robert and Ellen Murphy failed to disclose to the liquidator the existence of two on-going contracts that were transferred to another company which had a future turnover of over £1million, and oversaw the diversion of funds due to Silverview Developments totalling over £45,000 to be paid to another company. Additionally, they allowed Silverview Developments to trade to the detriment of HM Revenue & Customs from May 2012 until it’s liquidation in October 2014.

Robert Clarke, Group Leader of Insolvent Investigations North, part of The Insolvency Service, said:

Directors who ignore disqualification undertakings that they have previously given, and those who provide cover for them to allow them to continue to run limited companies, will be vigorously pursued by The insolvency Service.

The length of the undertakings in this case sends a clear message to the business community that such actions will not be tolerated.

Robert Murphy’s date of birth is May 1984 and he resides in Harrow, Middlesex

Eileen (aka Ellen) Murphy’s date of birth is August 1954 and she also resides in Harrow Middlesex.

Silverview Developments Ltd (CRN 07148732) was placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL) on 30 January 2014 with a deficiency as regards creditors of £394,091. The company traded as a construction company from Kenton Road, Harrow, Middlesex.

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.

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.

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

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Government response: The Vancouver Principles

Defence Minister Lord Howe meeting Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan at the 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial in Vancouver.

The ‘Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers’ were launched at the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial in Vancouver on 15 November 2017. They are a set of political commitments made on preventing child recruitment in the context of peacekeeping operations, including with regard to early warning and the active prevention of recruitment.

The UK is one of the UN Member States to endorse the Vancouver Principles, with the following declaration:

The United Kingdom reaffirms the Paris Commitments to Protect Children Unlawfully Recruited or Used by Armed Forces or Armed Groups on their 10th anniversary. The United Kingdom draws particular attention to Paris Commitment 3, to ensure that conscription and enlistment procedures comply with applicable international law, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and Paris Commitment 5, to seek the release of all children unlawfully recruited or used by armed forces or armed groups unconditionally and at all times including during armed conflict.

Having regard to the legal framework concerning the recruitment and use of children and the Paris Commitments the United Kingdom endorses the guidance set out in both the Paris Principles and the Vancouver Principles, which seek to prioritise and further operationalise child protection within UN peacekeeping missions, in advance of the launch of the Vancouver Principles on 15 November 2017.

Press release: Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Vietnam in July 2018

Mr Gareth Ward has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in succession to Mr Giles Lever, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Ward will take up his appointment in July 2018.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Gareth Edward Ward

Married to: Olena Ward

Children: Two

2013 – present FCO, Head of China Department

2010 – 2013 St Petersburg, Her Majesty’s Consul General

2007 – 2010 Beijing, First Secretary, Head of Foreign and Security Policy Team

2004 – 2006 FCO, Section Head for Justice and Home Affairs, Europe Directorate

2003 – 2004 FCO, Section Head for Germany and Austria, Europe Directorate

1998 – 2002 Moscow, Second Secretary Development

1996 – 1997 FCO, Desk Officer for Hungary and Bulgaria

1996 Joined FCO