7 April 2017

The Green Party has responded to the US missile strike launched by Donald Trump against a Syrian air base following a suspected chemical weapons attack [1].

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“We condemn President Assad’s barbarous and criminal use of chemical weapons against innocent men, women and children. This is the latest in a long line of attacks against his own people and the international community has clearly failed to hold him to account. We also remain concerned about the dire humanitarian crisis in the region. However, there is no simple answer to this most complex of crises and President Trump’s air strikes risk exacerbating an already complex situation in the absence of any coherent strategy to contain the violence and in the longer term, build peace. In the interim, the UK Government should immediately reconsider its inhumane treatment of the people fleeing this terrible conflict. We must allow more refugees from Syria to find safety in our country.”

Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party co-leader, said:

“If our ultimate goal is to protect people – and it should be – there are other effective steps that could be taken, including stepping up soft and hard diplomacy, looking anew at sanctions, the freezing of assets and the continued flow of arms to the region. Crucially we need to send a strong signal to Assad that his actions are intolerable whilst at the same time avoid any escalation of violence that puts more civilian lives at risk. It is deeply concerning that President Trump took this action without the permission of Congress and it is now of the upmost importance that Prime Minister Theresa May calls on him to help build some kind of international consensus around what happens next. I also urge her to remember that the UK must not commit to any military involvement in Syria without a vote in Parliament, and to confirm whether or not she is talking with Russia about the role they can play in bringing this conflict to an end.”

Notes:

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39523654

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Mr Knight was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 22 March 2017 having pleaded guilty to 11 separate offences. The Judge also ordered Royston Knight to undertake 100 hours unpaid work and be subject to a four month curfew hours 8pm to 6am.

His conviction follows a prosecution by the Insolvency Service.

Mr Knight had instructed an employee to manufacture false pay slips in support of his associate’s mortgage applications.

On being adjudged bankrupt on 16 August 2000, he failed to inform the Official Receiver that some two months earlier, he had transferred his property in favour of the Linear Property Company Ltd.

These offences dated back to a period between 2000 and 2004 when Mr Knight was both bankrupt and subject to an order disqualifying him from acting as a director for a period of 5 years. Despite these restrictions, he was improperly involved in a number of limited companies in the Gloucestershire area, one of which went into liquidation with creditors totalling £552,947.03.

Criminal proceedings were commenced against Royston knight in 2004 by the then-Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), by which time, he had left the UK. A warrant was obtained for his arrest and in November 2015, on returning to the UK from Panama, Royston Knight was arrested and brought before the court to face charges.

Deputy Chief Investigating Officer, Liam Mannall from the Insolvency Service said:

This case involved serious wrongdoing and is a demonstration of the long memory that justice retains.

The insolvency regime should not be abused, nor should a disqualification order be ignored, the consequences are likely to catch up with those who ignore this.

Note to editors

Royston Martin Knight’s date of birth is May 1949.

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.

Further information about the work of the Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team is also available.

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

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the
Labour Party,
speaking in response to the US air strikes on a Syrian air base, said:

“The
US missile attack on a Syrian government air base risks escalating the war in
Syria still further. 

“Tuesday’s horrific chemical
attack was a war crime which requires urgent independent UN investigation and
those responsible must be held to account. 

“But unilateral military action
without legal authorisation or independent verification risks intensifying a
multi-sided conflict that has already killed hundreds of thousands of
people. 

“What is needed instead is to
urgently reconvene the Geneva peace talks and unrelenting international
pressure for a negotiated settlement of the conflict. 

“The terrible suffering of the
Syrian people must be brought to an end as soon as possible and every
intervention must be judged on what contribution it makes to that outcome.

“The British government should
urge restraint on the Trump administration and throw its weight behind peace
negotiations and a comprehensive political settlement.”

The disqualification from 13 March 2017 prevents Mr Ahmed from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company until March 2022.

Mr Ahmed’s disqualification follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service which found he had failed to ensure relevant immigration checks were completed and documents retained, resulting in the employment of an illegal worker and which resulted in a penalty notice of £30,000 being issued by the Home Office.

Aldona O’Hara, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service said:

The Insolvency Service rigorously pursues directors who fail to pay fines imposed by the government for breaking employment and immigration laws. We have worked closely in this case with our colleagues at the Home Office to achieve this disqualification.

The director sought an unfair advantage over his competitors by employing an individual who did not have the right to work in the UK in breach of his duties as a director.

The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences. Running a limited company, means you have statutory obligations as well as protections. If you fail to comply with your obligations then the Insolvency Service will investigate you.

Notes to editors

Unique Flavours Limited (Company Registration No. 08348016) was incorporated on 4 January 2013 and traded from 121 Stoke Road, Gosport, Portsmouth P012 ILR.

Mohammed Zahed Ahmed (date of birth 24 April 1985) was the sole registered director from 4 January 2013, the date of incorporation, until liquidation.

The company went into liquidation on 13 May 2016. On 20 February 2017, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a Disqualification Undertaking from Mr Ahmed, effective from 13 March 2017, for a period of five years.

The matters of unfit conduct being that: Mohammed Zahed Ahmed failed to ensure that Unique Flavours Limited complied with its obligations in accordance with The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and employed illegal workers.

This led to a penalty of £30,000, which materially contributed to the insolvency of Unique Flavours Limited in that:

• Mohammed Zahed Ahmed was sole appointed director of Unique from 4 January 2013, the date of incorporation, until the date of liquidation
• on 9 October 2015 Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) officers visited the company’s trading premises and the company was found to be employing two illegal workers
• on 24 November, 2015 HOIE issued a Notification of Liability for a Civil Penalty to Unique in respect of a suspected breach of section 15 of the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, in the sum of £30,000 in respect of the company’s employment of two illegal workers, payment of which was due on or before 24 December 2015
• as the sole registered director of Unique, Md Zahed Ahmed was responsible for ensuring that the company complied with all relevant legislation, including legislation relating to the employment of persons eligible to work.
• no payments were made against the civil penalty and this sum remained outstanding at liquidation.

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:

7 Apr 2017

Businesses seeking to overturn crippling rises in rates will be forced to wait an extra month before their appeals are considered, it has emerged.

The Scottish Government has changed the legislation to state firms must now wait at least 105 days before a decision is made on their rates bill.

Previously, the limit was just 70 days, meaning those affected will have an additional 35 days of being out-of-pocket.

It’s the latest set-back for the SNP as it struggles to address the business rates fiasco.

Earlier this week, it emerged finance secretary Derek Mackay’s 12.5 per cent cap on increases was in fact a 14.75 per cent one, as he’d forgotten to factor in inflation.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said:

“This is yet more evidence of the SNP’s business rates fiasco unravelling.

“Not only was the cap announced by Derek Mackay found to be misleading, but now firms are being forced to wait more than a month extra to get their appeals heard.

“Considering finances for many of these organisations affected will already be tight, they can hardly afford to wait an additional 35 days.

“This is just another indication of an anti-business SNP government, that would rather hit firms in the pocket than help them boost growth, jobs and the economy.”

• An appellant can request that the Valuation Appeal Committee hear the appeal within a time period that the appellant requests, but this cannot be less than 105 days (previously 70 days) from the date they make the request in question.
• The “70 day” mentioned was changed very recently (16 March and coming into force on 1 May 2017) when The Valuation Appeal Committee (Procedure in Appeals under the Valuation Acts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017 was laid (Legislation.Gov.UK, Scottish Statutory Instruments, link).
• Previously, Section 8 (4 and 7) of The Valuation Appeal Committee (Procedure in Appeals under the Valuation Acts) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 stated (LegislationGov.UK, Scottish Statutory Instruments, link):

‘(4) The secretary shall give to each party not less than 70 days’ notice of the date, time and place set for the hearing of the appeal.’

‘(7) If an appellant considers that his appeal has not been or is not to be heard within a reasonable period of lodging it, he may request the Committee to hear the appeal within such a period as he may specify, being a period not less than 70 days from the date of his request, and if the Committee declines to hear the appeal within such a period-

(a)    It shall state its reasons for so declining; and

(b)   The Secretary shall notify both parties accordingly’.’

• The Valuation Appeal Committee (Procedure in Appeals under the Valuation Acts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017 “70” for “105” in both these paragraphs 4 and 7 of regulation 8. It states: (Legislation.Gov.UK, Scottish Statutory Instruments, link)

‘(4) In regulation 8 (arrangements for hearing by the Committee)—

(a) in paragraphs (4) and (7), for “70” substitute “105”;

(b) in paragraph (5)(6), for “giving such information” to the end substitute “to be published on an appropriate website”; and

(c) in paragraph (6), for “name a place” to the end substitute “include a list of the appeals to be heard at that hearing”.’

• Therefore as of 1 May 2017 the period covered by these sections will no longer be 70 but 105 days. Therefore the minimum time that an appellant can ask is 105 days, and if the Committee declines to hear the appeal within such a period, it must state why and notify both parties that this is the case.