AS the anniversary of the Salisbury Novichok attack approaches, the past week brought the welcome news that the EU has added the perpetrators of the outrage to its new Chemical Weapons sanctions list.

The two GRU agents who transported the toxic nerve agent, plus their supervisors, become the first individuals listed under the overhauled sanctions regime. The listing involves both a travel ban and asset freeze, restricting access to financial markets and sending a clear and united political signal against those who use chemical weapons.

Moving on to more local matters, last Friday, it was great to bring together a good turnout of stakeholders at the latest meeting of my South Wiltshire Economic Task Force. It is clear that there is an appetite to move beyond recovering from the events of last March and look towards the opportunities that lie ahead.

One such is the government’s High Streets fund. I expect Salisbury to be well placed to submit a strong and credible proposal and I am grateful for the energetic engagement of the BID and others in developing it. I look forward to seeing the plans take shape in the coming weeks and, meanwhile, I am doing all I can to make the case for Salisbury in Westminster to get us as sympathetic a hearing as possible.

It has been yet another critically important week in Parliament but, in amongst all the hurly-burly of Tuesday’s debating and voting, it was good to see a cohort of pupils from Salisbury’s grammar schools visiting Parliament. It was just such a trip that first made me want to become an MP. I’m not sure whether any ambitions were stirred this week but, one thing is for certain, they chose an interesting day to witness!

The decision to mandate the Prime Minister to seek changes to the backstop was taken and this will be her urgent task in the next fortnight. I hope flexibility can be found as Parliament indicated that it does not support a “No Deal” outcome. Meanwhile my work to ensure we are ready for all outcomes in the Treasury continues apace. I will also be responding to a debate on Thursday on Equitable Life.

I look forward to my 10th year supporting the Alabare Sleep Out on Friday night.