H5N8 avian flu has been confirmed at a farm near Thornton, Wyre, Lancashire.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson made his first visit to Libya today (Thursday) to support fresh efforts towards a unified and stable government.

The Foreign Secretary met Libyan Prime Minister Fayyez Al-Serraj and Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala to discuss the challenges faced by Libya’s Government of National Accord and how the UK can support Libyan efforts to re-establish security, stability, and prosperity for the Libyan people

The Foreign Secretary also met Abdurrahman Swehli, President of Libya’s High State Council. In these meetings, Mr Johnson underlined the importance of Libya’s legitimate political institutions working together to break the political deadlock which is prolonging instability and the suffering of the Libyan people.

Speaking after the visit to Tripoli, the Foreign Secretary said:

Libya’s political and social groups need to seize the momentum offered by the welcome meeting between Prime Minister Seraj and Marshall Heftar earlier this week to set out a path towards Libyan reconciliation and unity.

Security, stability and prosperity can only be achieved when the country’s leaders choose to get together and work out a plan for the common benefit of the Libyan people.

Establishing effective governance is also the key to defeating terrorism in Libya and countering illegal migration.

The meetings in Tripoli followed talks last night (Wednesday) in Tunis with Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui on counterterrorism cooperation, UK assistance in improving the Tunisian security situation, and boosting trade.

On his visit to Tunisia, Mr Johnson said:

It was a pleasure to visit Tunisia for the first time and to meet my counterpart for our first bilateral talks. The UK is a long term partner and friend of Tunisia and will continue to cooperate closely on security, counterterrorism and trade.

Further information

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email academy@noms.gsi.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

On behalf of the whole country, I want to offer our deepest gratitude and good wishes to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh following today’s announcement that he will stand down from public duties in the autumn.

From his steadfast support for Her Majesty the Queen to his inspirational Duke of Edinburgh Awards and his patronage of hundreds of charities and good causes, his contribution to our United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the wider world will be of huge benefit to us all for years to come.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Islamic Trust (Maidenhead), registered charity number 1034710. The inquiry was opened on 19 April 2017.

The charity, based in Maidenhead, has objects to provide facilities of worship and educational services for individuals practicing the Islamic faith.

In 2016 the charity was included in the Commission’s class inquiry into charities that are in default for submitting their statutory returns for 2 or more financial years. The charity was removed from the inquiry after the overdue accounts were submitted, and the Commission provided regulatory advice and guidance to the trustees in respect to their legal obligation to file accounts on time. Following the charity’s removal from the class inquiry, the trustees wrote to the Commission and provided assurances that the charity’s future statutory returns would be filed on time.

In February 2017, the trustees again failed to meet their legal obligations to file the charity’s statutory returns for the financial year end March 2016 on time. The trustees’ repeated failure to comply with their legal duties, particularly given the assurances previously provided, and the continued evidence of mismanagement and misconduct in the administration of the charity warrants further investigation from the Commission as part of an inquiry.

The inquiry will examine:

• the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees
• the financial controls and management of the charity
• the conduct of the trustees
• whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law

In opening the inquiry, the Commission has exercised its legal powers and made an order directing the trustees to file the charity’s outstanding statutory returns.

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. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool.

Ends

PR 36/17

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our online register.
3. Details of how the Commission reports on its regulatory work can be found on GOV.UK.
4. The purpose of an inquiry to examine issues in detail and investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been misconduct and mismanagement; establish the extent of the risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work; decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its investigative, protective and remedial powers to do so.
5. The Commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.
6. On 22 December 2016, the Commission published a report online detailing the findings of the class inquiry into the charity.
7. The Commission issued the Order under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 on 19 April 2017. Section 84 gives the Commission the power to direct any action to be taken that it considers expedient in the interests of the charity.