The Board is responsible for identifying and evaluating the major business risks faced by the Company and for determining and monitoring the appropriate course of action to manage these risks. The Audit Committee monitors the integrity of the financial statements and announcements, reviews the Company’s internal control processes and risk management systems and reports its conclusions to the Board.

The Board regularly conducts reviews, and has reviewed, for the year under review and up to the date of approval of the 2008 Annual Report and Accounts, the effectiveness of the Company’s systems of internal control and risk management and has concluded that the Company’s procedures, policies and systems are appropriate and suitable to enable the Board to safeguard shareholders’ investment and the Company’s assets, and comply with Turnbull Guidance.

The Audit Committee annually reviews, and has reviewed for 2008, the need for a dedicated internal audit function and, as noted above, has recommended to the Board that, due to the scale and geographic distribution of the Company’s licences and operating interests, the Board continues to be best served by using external specialist assistance on dedicated business and financial risk areas to supplement the Company’s own risk analysis. The process and systems of internal control are designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

The key procedures, which the Directors have established with a view to providing effective internal control, are described below. In addition, the Company’s independent auditors present reports to the Audit Committee, which include any significant internal control matters that they have identified as part of their normal audit work.