Her Majesty the Queen Passed Away

The Queen has been a symbol of grace, dignity, and elegance, while at the same time a symbol of strength, courage, and dedication to her country.”  She will always remain in our Hearts.

Queen’s Baton Relay arrives in Pakistan

A welcome ceremony was hosted by the Deputy British High Commission, Karachi to officially hand over the Queen’s Baton to the President of the Commonwealth Games Association.

The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay arrived in Karachi on Monday as it continues its global journey around the 72 Commonwealth nations and territories before concluding at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on 28 July 2022.

A welcome ceremony was hosted by the Deputy British High Commission, Karachi to officially hand over the Queen’s Baton to the President of the Commonwealth Games Association.

The Baton will be carried by Pakistani squash legend Jahangir Khan, and Muhammad Inam, World Beach Wrestling Champion and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist. During its time in Pakistan, the Baton will also visit the Madressatul Islam University, Mazaar-e-Quaid, Karachi Grammar School and Moulana Muhammad Ali Johar Park (Kakri Ground) as Batonbearers, athletes, and others share untold stories of striving for change in their communities.

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner, said:

Birmingham, the baton’s final destination, has one of the largest Pakistani diaspora in the UK. With the 75th anniversary of our relations and the Commonwealth, this is another important milestone in UK-Pakistan relations.

The Baton Relay has been an essential part of the Commonwealth Games for over 60 years and celebrates communities from across the Commonwealth during the run up to the Games. It ignites hope, solidarity, and collaboration as it connects communities embracing unique cultures and inspires the next generation of sporting heroes.

Further information

1. The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay is an epic journey covering the entirety of the Commonwealth as it will travel to all 72 nations and territories, covering a distance of 140,000 kilometres. For 269 days, the Baton will travel to Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and the Americas, before it embarks on the final stretch of its journey across England for 25 days.
2. The Commonwealth Games bring nations together in a colourful celebration of sport and human performance. But the Games have evolved dramatically since its beginnings in 1930. Held every four years, with a hiatus during World War II, the Games have grown from featuring 11 countries and 400 athletes, to a global spectacle of 6,600 sports men and women from across 72 nations and territories.
3. Underpinned by the core values of humanity, equality and destiny, the Games aim to unite the Commonwealth family through a glorious festival of sport. Often referred to as the ‘Friendly Games’, the event is renowned for inspiring athletes to compete in the spirit of friendship and fair play.
4. Pakistan has competed in 13 of the 21 previous Commonwealth Games, from 1954. Its most successful games have been the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, where it was 4th in the overall rankings and won 8 Gold Medals. Its most successful event has been wrestling, where it has won 42 medals, 21 of which have been Gold. It ranks 3rd overall in Wrestling at the Commonwealth Games.
5. After Pakistan, the Baton relay will travel to the Maldives.

HMRC fraud squad takes back £1 billion from offenders

HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service has recovered more than £1 billion from the proceeds of crime.

More than £1 billion has been recovered from the proceeds of crime and tax offenders since the formation of a specialist HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fraud squad 5 years ago.

Launched in April 2016, the department’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) has now recovered assets equivalent to funding around 20,000 NHS nurses for an entire year.

FIS has been proactively pursuing the suspected proceeds of crime using enforcement powers, both criminal and civil, to disrupt the movement of cash and assets. Since 2016, more than 1,200 seizures of cash and assets have been made while on operational duty, including gold bars worth £750,000 from a passenger at Manchester Airport and £48,000 found in a freezer drawer, hidden among chicken nuggets at a house in Blackpool.

Simon York, HMRC’s Director of Fraud Investigation Service, said:

To reach this £1 billion milestone in 5 years speaks volumes to the dedication, hard work and skill of FIS to recover the proceeds of crime from those who try to cheat the system.

Whether it’s cash seizures, confiscation orders or account freezing orders, recovering these assets stops criminals bankrolling their lavish lifestyles and funding further crimes that harm our communities, such as drugs, guns and human trafficking. Crucially, this money goes back into the public purse, helping fund our vital services such as schools and hospitals.

HMRC deploys cutting-edge technology to investigate unexplained wealth and uncover hidden assets. Last year alone, we recouped more than £218 million from proceeds of crime.

We are committed to recovering criminal assets and today the message is clear – crime doesn’t pay.

Some of the bigger and varied seizures and confiscations include:

• £750,000 of gold bars seized from a lunchbox at Manchester Airport, which were auctioned off with proceeds going back into the public purse
• a £1.7 million confiscation order imposed on a payroll fraudster who had to stump up the cash or face having 4 years added to his nine-and-a-half year sentence
• gold jewellery and £180,000 cash seized from a safety deposit box in Birmingham as part of a £194,280 tax fraud
• more than £840,000 in cash was seized at a residential garage in Sydenham, south-east London, after FIS helped dismantle a gang responsible for a £9.5 million tobacco fraud
• £48,000 found in a freezer drawer, hidden among chicken nuggets at a house in Blackpool, as part of a £16 million tobacco fraud
• a convicted fraudster was ordered to hand over poker winnings twice in 2018 and 2019 totalling £99,030 to satisfy an outstanding confiscation order

The formation of FIS in 2016 brought together HMRC’s criminal and civil investigators – a world-first for tax enforcement. This partnership allows HMRC’s investigators to unlock the most complex financial crimes.

Criminal cash is seized by HMRC officers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. If the courts are satisfied the cash is from a crime, or was going to be used in a crime, they can order a forfeiture. In uncontested cases, HMRC can administratively order forfeiture of the cash.

HMRC also obtains Account Freezing Orders to freeze balances in bank accounts where it is suspected they contain criminal money. A financial investigator uses a range of tools at their disposal to investigate the cash or account and any criminality. This may involve interviewing the suspect, obtaining production orders on identified bank accounts and assessing whether the cash was seized alongside illegal items such as non-duty paid alcohol or tobacco. Uncontested cases can be administratively dealt with by HMRC, while others would be determined in a court.

Confiscation orders can be imposed on tax fraudsters after conviction. Investigators will assess the criminal benefit from their crimes and evaluate any assets they hold. If the assets held by the convicted criminal at the time of the order are less than the benefit derived from the fraud, then any future assets can be confiscated up to the value of the benefit of the fraud.

The courts make the final decision on a confiscation order. Failure to pay leads to default sentences and many more months or years in jail and they will still owe the money when released. The recovered money is returned to the public purse.

The Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) is another tool for FIS to deal with serious fraud cases. The CDF allows tax evaders to admit their fraud and agree to pay the tax in full, along with interest and penalties due. However, if FIS discovers that individuals have not made a full and frank disclosure via the CDF, it can and does criminally investigate and prosecute.

Further information

HMRC secured 157 criminal convictions in the UK during the 2020 to 2021 financial year and recouped more than £218 million from the proceeds of crime – sending a very clear message that crime doesn’t pay.

As part of HMRC’s broader attack on serious and organised crime, the department is increasingly using powers to freeze and recover unexplained assets. During the 2020 to 2021 financial year in the UK, HMRC issued 151 Account Freezing Orders to the tune of more than £26 million.

New support to help vulnerable countries tackle Omicron

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has pledged up to £105 million of UK emergency aid to help vulnerable countries tackle the Omicron COVID-19 variant, with a particular focus on Africa.

The vital aid will be delivered through trusted partners and will:

• scale-up testing: especially in parts of Africa where testing rates for Covid-19 remain lowest – allowing health systems to track and respond to the spread of the virus more effectively. This is in addition to the UK’s world-leading genomic sequencing support
• improve access to oxygen supplies for ventilators: a surge in demand for oxygen is a significant risk for some countries
• provide communities with hygiene advice, products and access to handwashing facilities and support deep cleaning in schools, health centres and other public places. This will build on the successful global hygiene campaign between UK aid and Unilever which has reached over 1.2 billion people since its launch in 2020
• fund the UK’s ground-breaking science and research into the spread of variants like Omicron to enable innovative evidence-based policy responses in low and middle-income countries
• ready the UK’s own expert emergency teams for deployment overseas to crisis hotspots, including with new medical equipment

The government has also confirmed today that over 30 million vaccines have been delivered so far as part of the UK’s pledge to donate 100 million doses to the world, benefitting more than 30 countries.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

The UK is providing vital assistance to help tackle the spread of new variants around the world. This is key to securing our freedom and ending this pandemic once and for all.

I am proud that we have also delivered over 30 million vaccines to benefit our friends around the world this year. The UK is helping other countries most in need. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Doses donated by the UK have reached four continents and provided vital protection from Covid-19 in countries including Angola, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, and Rwanda.

Of the more than 30 million doses now donated, 24.6 million have been received by COVAX for delivery to countries and 5.5 million have been shared directly with countries in need including Kenya, Jamaica, and Indonesia.

Millions more vaccines will be sent to other countries in 2022, including 20 million Oxford-AstraZeneca doses and 20 million Janssen doses.

The UK has been at the forefront of the global response to Covid-19. Today’s announcement builds on the £1.3 billion in UK aid committed to the international health response early on in the pandemic, supporting vaccines, health systems and economic recovery in developing countries.

The Government also invested more than £88 million to support the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and the UK became the first country in the world to approve the jab a year ago today.

Thanks to AstraZeneca’s commitment distribute the vaccine on a non-profit basis, 2.5 billion doses have been used in more than 170 countries, two thirds of which are low- and middle-income countries.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The global pandemic has challenged health systems around the world and the best way to overcome this awful disease is to unite and stand side by side with our international partners.

By supporting countries with the UK’s ground breaking science and research into the spread of variants, improving access to oxygen and scaling up testing we will help those most in need chart their course out of the pandemic.

I am proud that we have already delivered over 30 million vaccines to our friends abroad. The UK, as a global leader, is helping other countries most in need. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said:

We welcome the UK’s commitment in new funding to protect the most vulnerable, particularly in Africa; the UK’s continued focus on COVAX and equitable global access to COVID19 vaccines, both through early financing commitments made at UNGA 2020, as well as meeting the Prime Minister’s G7 commitment to dose sharing – the 30m target set by the end of 2021.

We look forward to operationalising the remainder of the UK’s dose sharing commitment via COVAX in 2022, while we also work with the UK Government on continuing to support Gavi’s ambitious 2021- 2025 routine vaccination programmes, of which the United Kingdom is the largest funder through the PM’s commitment made at the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020.

Further information

• The UK will fund testing and oxygen supplies through the COVID-19 response mechanism C19RM, established by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is a proven, rapid, and highly effective approach designed to respond to the needs of countries and communities in low- and middle-income countries.
• The UK continues to offer our world-leading expertise to help identify new Covid-19 variants. The UK is the second largest contributor of genomic data to the global initiative mapping the spread of Covid-19, providing around a third of the total number of sequences so far uploaded.
• The UK kick-started efforts to establish COVAX, pledging £548 million to the scheme. COVAX has so far provided 811 million doses to 144 of the world’s poorest countries.
• The UK’s Health Security Agency continues to help countries effectively identify, assess, and track new SARS-CoV-2 variants among their population through the New Variant Assessment Platform (NVAP).
• Planning for future pandemics is crucial and that is why the UK will host a replenishment conference in March 2022 to support the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to raise funds for vaccine research and development. CEPI aim to cut the time it takes to develop a vaccine to 100 days which could avert future pandemics, save millions of lives, and avoid trillions of pounds of economic damage.
• The UK donates vaccines through COVAX as well as directly to countries. So far, doses donated by the UK have arrived in Angola, Antiqua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belize, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Malaysia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.
• The UK continues to proactively manage our vaccine supply and does not hold a stockpile of coronavirus vaccines. All procured, regulated doses are either used rapidly by our domestic programme or shared internationally with countries in need, meaning the domestic booster rollout is not impacted by donations

One year anniversary of UK approving Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

A year ago today, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine.

• Vaccination programme has been a phenomenal success, saving countless lives and reducing pressure on NHS
• 5 billion doses of the at-cost and UK-made vaccine have been administered across the world

The UK became the first country in the world to approve the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine a year ago today (Thursday 30 December).

Early investment in the Oxford team – in their technology since 2016 and their COVID-19 vaccines since March 2020 – paved the way for approval by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), driven forward by the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) world leading research. The NIHR helped recruit thousands of volunteers from across the UK for phase 3 trials and supported the researchers.

Almost 50 million AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered in the UK, saving countless lives, keeping people out of hospital and reducing the pressure on the NHS.

Following the government investing more than £88 million to help research, develop and manufacture the vaccine, around 2.5 billion doses have been distributed at cost to more than 170 countries. Almost two-thirds of these have gone to low and lower-middle-income countries, including more than 30 million doses donated by the UK through COVAX or bilaterally. The UK will donate a further 20 million AstraZeneca doses to countries in need next year as part of the government’s commitment to donate 100 million doses overall.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Our fight against COVID-19 in the UK and around the world would not have been possible without the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Developed by brilliant scientists at Oxford and delivered on a not-for-profit basis thanks to AstraZeneca, this vaccine has provided 50 million doses to the British public and over 2.5 billion to more than 170 other countries.

We can all be incredibly proud of – and grateful for – a jab that has saved many millions of lives.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Today marks one year since the UK made history by being the first country in the world to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – a UK-made and government-funded vaccine which has been absolutely pivotal in helping to save millions of lives around the world.

I’m incredibly proud of the role the UK has played in developing, researching and manufacturing ground-breaking vaccines and treatments during the pandemic.

Vaccines are the best way to protect people from COVID-19 and I’m urging everybody to play their part in this national mission – roll up your sleeves and get your jabs.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said:

One year on, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has played a crucial part in our fight against COVID-19, saving the lives of the most vulnerable and helping to reduce the spread of the virus.

It’s a remarkable example of British innovation and scientific excellence – please take advantage and get your vaccines as soon as you can to protect yourself this winter.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is the largest in British history and was established at unprecedented speed, with thousands of vaccine centres set up rapidly in England, meaning around 98% of people live within 10 miles of a vaccination clinic.

The government’s Vaccine Taskforce secured early access to almost 340 million doses of the most promising vaccine candidates in advance for the entire UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, enabling a rapid deployment once approved by the medicines regulator.

The UK led the world in vaccine research, providing results for 3 of the successful vaccine candidates through huge phase 3 trials for Oxford AstraZeneca, Janssen and Novavax vaccines. The Novavax trial is the largest ever double blind placebo controlled trial in the UK, recruiting 15,000 participants from 35 research sites in just over 2 months.

Tom Keith-Roach, President of AstraZeneca UK, said:

I am quietly humbled and hugely proud of the work we have done together to get 50 million doses into people’s arms here in the UK and over 2.5 billion doses to people in over 170 countries globally in less than 12 months.

This has only been possible thanks to the tireless efforts and is to the huge credit of so many colleagues, partners, healthcare workers, volunteers and members of the public who have stepped forward to support this unprecedented national effort.

There remain huge challenges ahead, much vital work is still to be done, but in 2021 we achieved remarkable things and this should give us confidence and renewed hope for 2022.

Get Boosted Now text message to go out from Boxing Day

As part of the national Get Boosted Now campaign to protect against Omicron, a text will be sent out from Boxing Day reminding people to get jabbed

• Every adult needs a COVID-19 booster vaccine to protect against Omicron
• In partnership with UK phone networks, the UK Government will send out SMS texts on Boxing Day urging people to get a booster
• The SMS texts are part of the Get Boosted Now campaign and the latest push in a record-breaking week for daily vaccinations

From Boxing Day (26 December) people in the UK will receive a text message reminding them to get a booster vaccine to protect us all from the spread of the Omicron.

More than 32 million people – over 60% of adults in the UK – have now had their COVID-19 booster.

The expansion of the booster programme continues at a rapid pace, with all adults able to get their life-saving jab by booking online through the National Booking Service or by visiting their nearest walk-in vaccination centre.

This week, more vaccination sites have opened across the country, making it as easy as possible to Get Boosted Now, including football stadiums and shopping centres.

While two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection against the Delta variant, data from the UK Health Security Agency shows vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection is substantially reduced against Omicron with just two doses over time – but a third dose provides between 60% and 70% protection against symptomatic infection from Omicron two to four weeks after the booster is given.

It is vital to get a first and second jab, in order to be eligible for a booster to get the vital protection against Omicron.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

We are texting this Boxing Day for all eligible adults to Get Boosted Now.

It has never been as important to get protected with the booster – so whether it is in between turkey sandwiches or before the Boxing Day fixtures, whatever your traditions make the booster a part of them this year.

Millions of vaccine slots are available through the festive calendar so if you’re not boosted and you get this text, take up the offer and get vaccinated.

Some venues and events in England now require people to have two COVID-19 vaccines or proof of a negative test as a condition of entry. People can access their NHS COVID Pass digitally or receive a paper copy once they have been doubled jabbed.

HMG would like to thank the Mobile Network Operators for their assistance in helping deliver the vitally important Get Boosted Now message.

 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.