‘Posturing’ by Brussels in Brexit negotiations is posing high risks for businesses on both side of the talks. Welsh UKIP MEP Nathan Gill said that the EU's obsession with three key Brexit issues is causing unnecessary harm and asked, ‘In this divorce bill, who are the children? In a divorce you consider the children and the children in this instance are the businesses of Europe, the traders.’ He said that if he were a German manufacturer or a French wine producer selling to Britain, he’d be very annoyed at Michel Barnier’s stubbornness. Britain has contributed massively to the EU for many years (the second largest contributor), so many believe that the loss of such a benefactor should prompt the EU either to persuade Britain to stay or make negotiations easier. Pray for an end to veiled threats and a refusal to talk about the future until after sums of money are agreed upon.

On 13 October four Britons were snatched by gunmen in Nigeria’s southern Delta state. The region holds most of the country’s crude oil and is Nigeria’s economic mainstay. Kidnapping for ransom is common in parts of Nigeria, and several foreigners have been taken in the past few years. The abductors have not yet made contact. Those kidnapped are reported to be former GP David Donovan and his wife Shirley who run New Foundations, with their two sons. They have run Bible classes, a boat clinic and health care centre there for fourteen years. Four suspects have been arrested, and a joint task force will attempt to rescue the family . Travellers to Nigeria are currently warned to avoid going to areas of Delta state. See:

Ninety children a day are taken into care in England and Wales, and currently there are 72,670 children in care - up 3% from 2016. Social workers are ‘firefighting’ the most serious cases late into the night. Professor Ray Jones, working in social services improvement, says that staff fear that children slip through the net as they try to keep up with rising pressures. Local government associations say children's services will face a £2bn a year funding gap by 2020. Social workers are spending a lot of time, late at night and during weekends, preparing for court proceedings. They are closing down work where children are unhappy and distressed because they have to concentrate on those in immediate danger. This causes considerable stress over concerns that they may be missing something.

Scores of Vietnamese children rescued from traffickers and placed in council care have gone missing, and are feared to have fallen back into the hands of slave masters. Figures suggest that gangs are re-trafficking victims, and local authorities are failing in their duty to safeguard children. Over 150 Vietnamese children have disappeared from care since 2015, but the true figure is likely to be higher; almost ninety others went missing temporarily. Most go missing within two days of entering care. At least 21 have vanished this summer, including 12 from Rochdale, a council whose child protection record is already under intense scrutiny. Children of other nationalities have suffered a similar plight, with growing concern about the number of missing Albanian children. Baroness Butler-Sloss described the figures as ‘very disturbing’, and said she believed there were far more at risk.