logo
Starmer praises German plans to ‘strengthen' laws to tackle small boats

Starmer praises German plans to ‘strengthen' laws to tackle small boats

Glasgow Times6 days ago
Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Prime Minister said that the proposals that will mean small boats can be seized are a 'clear sign that we mean business'.
Berlin agreed last year to make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the UK a criminal offence in a move that will give law enforcement more powers to investigate the supply and storage of small boats to be used for Channel crossings.
In a meeting in Downing Street today, Sir Keir thanked Mr Merz for his commitment to introduce legislation 'by the end of the year' that would outlaw facilitating illegal migration to the UK, Number 10 said.
Speaking on a visit to an Airbus plant in Stevenage, Sir Keir welcomed German commitments to tackling people-smuggling gangs.
He said: 'I want to thank Friedrich for his leadership on this, pledging decisive action to strengthen German law this year so that small boats being stored or transported in Germany can be seized, disrupting the route to the UK.
The Prime Minister and Germany's chancellor met in Downing Street (Leon Neal/PA)
'It's a clear sign that we mean business. We are coming after the criminal gangs in every way that we can.'
Sir Keir said he has been 'very concerned' about 'engines' and 'component parts of the boats that are being used are travelling through and being stored in Germany' but post-Brexit arrangements meant they could not be seized.
Mr Merz also said that he 'deplore(s)' the UK's decision to leave the EU, as he and the Prime Minister visited the factory.
He added that 'it is together that we respond to the major challenges of our time'.
Earlier on Thursday the pair signed a treaty that pledged to 'reinforce Euro-Atlantic security', and could also free up school exchange visits and passport e-gates.
Sir Keir Starmer (front right) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (front left), watched by Germany's minister for foreign affairs Johann Wadephul and Foreign Secretary David Lammy as they sign the new UK-Germany treaty (Frank AugsteinPA)
The deal – to be known as the Kensington Treaty – was signed at the V&A museum in London, and was also signed by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.
Sir Keir described it as 'evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today' as well as a 'statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together'.
The document details the UK and German agreement to 'reinforce Euro-Atlantic security and ensure effective deterrence against potential aggressors' through their defence forces, as well as looking to improving defence co-operation in the future. It also reaffirms support for Nato and Nato allies.
As part of Thursday's deal, Berlin has agreed to allow some arriving UK passengers to use passport e-gates.
The move will initially be available for frequent travellers and is due to be in place by the end of August.
The treaty also includes the UK and Germany agreeing to establish a taskforce aimed at paving the way for direct train services between the countries. It is hoped services could begin within the next decade.
It also says that the two nations 'value bilateral school and youth exchanges' and will 'facilitate' them.
The visit from Mr Merz comes a week after French President Emmanuel Macron was hosted on a state visit, and the German chancellor said that the three nations are 'converging' in their stance on policy matters including migration and security.
'This dynamic is never exclusive in nature,' he added.
'We're always bearing in mind Poland, Italy and the other also smaller European partners in whatever decision we take.'
He later said that the so-called E3 countries want to 'drastically reduce illegal migration in Europe'.
The visit is Mr Merz's first official trip to the UK since he became chancellor in May this year.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NatWest hires AWS and Accenture to consolidate customer data across the bank
NatWest hires AWS and Accenture to consolidate customer data across the bank

Finextra

time10 minutes ago

  • Finextra

NatWest hires AWS and Accenture to consolidate customer data across the bank

NatWest has signed a five-year deal with Amazon Web Services and Accenture to consolidate its customer data streams into a single, bank-wide data platform, enabled by AI. 0 The project will revamp the storage of data on 20 million customers across the bank to help anticipate and respond to customer needs faster with more personalised services. As a result, the bank's relationship managers will gain a deeper insight into customer financial wellness, equipping them with tools and analytics to provide recommendations, products and support that proactively meet their needs. The avilability of better quality data is also expected to aid faster onboarding, improve customer complaints handling, support security and protection measures by reducing the time it takes to alert customers of fraud risks and to provide more efficient and faster financial, risk and regulatory reporting through improved data sourcing. Paul Thwaite, CEO of NatWest Group, says: 'This collaboration with Accenture and AWS is key to helping us progress the transformation of NatWest as we become a simpler, more technology and data-driven bank. Our industry — and the expectations of our customers — are changing rapidly and we are building our capabilities in order to understand and serve their needs better and faster than ever before. Equipped with high quality data, we can continue to quietly revolutionise how we serve our customers through the use of AI and other technologies in order to provide more personalised products and services.'

Two former traders have rate rigging convictions quashed at Supreme Court
Two former traders have rate rigging convictions quashed at Supreme Court

The Independent

time10 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Two former traders have rate rigging convictions quashed at Supreme Court

Two financial market traders who were jailed for manipulating benchmark interest rates have had their convictions quashed at the Supreme Court. Former Citigroup and UBS trader Tom Hayes was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud over manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) between 2006 and 2010. Carlo Palombo, ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank, was found guilty of conspiring with others to submit false or misleading Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) submissions between 2005 and 2009. The Court of Appeal dismissed appeals from both men in March last year. They then took their cases to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the panel of five justices found there was 'ample evidence' for a jury to convict the two men had it been properly directed, but they had not. In an 82-page judgment, with which Supreme Court president Lord Reed, Lords Hodge and Lloyd-Jones and Lady Simler agreed, Lord Leggatt said: 'That misdirection undermined the fairness of the trial.' The jury direction errors made both convictions unsafe, Lord Leggatt said. He added: 'Mr Hayes was entitled to have his defence to the allegation that he agreed to procure false submissions as well as his denial that he had acted dishonestly left fairly to the jury. 'He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair. 'It is not possible to say that, if the jury had been properly directed, they would have been bound to return verdicts of guilty. 'The convictions are therefore unsafe and cannot stand.' Mr Hayes was jailed for 14 years after his conviction in 2015, which was later lowered to 11 years after an appeal, while Mr Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019. Lord Leggatt continued: 'When the flaws in the directions given at Mr Palombo's trial are considered in combination, it cannot safely be assumed that, without them, the jury would still have been bound to convict Mr Palombo. 'Thus, his conviction also cannot stand.' He added: 'Accordingly, both appeals should be allowed.' The Libor rate was previously used as a reference point around the world for setting millions of pounds worth of financial deals, including car loans and mortgages. It was an interest rate average calculated from figures submitted by a panel of leading banks in London, with each one reporting what it would be charged were it to borrow from other institutions. Euribor was created along with the euro currency in 1999 as a benchmark rate of interest for transactions in euros. In 2012, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began criminal investigations into traders it suspected of manipulating Libor and Euribor. Mr Hayes was the first person to be prosecuted by the SFO, who opposed his and Mr Palombo's appeals at the Supreme Court. The SFO brought prosecutions against 20 individuals between 2013 and 2019, seven of whom were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted. Mr Hayes had also been facing criminal charges in the United States but these were dismissed after two other men involved in a similar case had their convictions reversed in 2022.

Traders found guilty of rigging interest rates have convictions quashed by Supreme Court
Traders found guilty of rigging interest rates have convictions quashed by Supreme Court

The Independent

time10 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Traders found guilty of rigging interest rates have convictions quashed by Supreme Court

Former financial market traders Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, who were found guilty of benchmark interest rate rigging, have had their convictions quashed at the Supreme Court. Former Citigroup and UBS trader Tom Hayes was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud over manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) between 2006 and 2010. Carlo Palombo, the ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank, was found guilty of conspiring with others to submit false or misleading Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) submissions between 2005 and 2009. After the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals from both men in March 2024, they took their cases to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the panel of five justices found there was 'ample evidence' for a jury to convict the two men had it been properly directed – but they had not. In an 82-page judgment, with which Supreme Court president Lord Reed, Lords Hodge and Lloyd-Jones and Lady Simler agreed, Lord Leggatt said: 'That misdirection undermined the fairness of the trial.' The jury direction errors made both convictions unsafe, Lord Leggatt said. He added: 'Mr Hayes was entitled to have his defence to the allegation that he agreed to procure false submissions as well as his denial that he had acted dishonestly left fairly to the jury. 'He was deprived of that opportunity by directions which were legally inaccurate and unfair. 'It is not possible to say that, if the jury had been properly directed, they would have been bound to return verdicts of guilty. 'The convictions are therefore unsafe and cannot stand.' Mr Hayes was jailed for 14 years after his conviction in 2015, which was later lowered to 11 years after an appeal, while Mr Palombo was jailed for four years in 2019. Lord Leggatt continued: 'When the flaws in the directions given at Mr Palombo's trial are considered in combination, it cannot safely be assumed that, without them, the jury would still have been bound to convict Mr Palombo. 'Thus, his conviction also cannot stand.' He added: 'Accordingly, both appeals should be allowed.' A spokesperson for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it would not be seeking a retrial. In a statement issued after the judgment, it said: 'Our investigation led to nine convictions of senior bankers for fraud offences, with two of these individuals pleading guilty and seven found guilty by juries. 'This judgment has determined that the legal directions given to the jury at the conclusion of trial were incorrect in Hayes' and Palombo's trials and for that reason their convictions have today been found unsafe. 'We have considered this judgment and the full circumstances carefully and determined it would not be in the public interest for us to seek a retrial.' The investigations The Libor rate was previously used as a reference point around the world for setting millions of pounds worth of financial deals, including car loans and mortgages. It was an interest rate average calculated from figures submitted by a panel of leading banks in London, with each one reporting what it would be charged were it to borrow from other institutions. Euribor was created along with the euro currency in 1999 as a benchmark rate of interest for transactions in euros. In 2012, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began criminal investigations into traders it suspected of manipulating Libor and Euribor. Mr Hayes was the first person to be prosecuted by the SFO, which opposed his and Mr Palombo's appeals at the Supreme Court. The SFO brought prosecutions against 20 individuals between 2013 and 2019, seven of whom were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted. Mr Hayes had also been facing criminal charges in the United States but these were dismissed after two other men involved in a similar case had their convictions reversed in 2022.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store