Downing Street Says » 2005

» Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Prime Minister in the US

Asked if there was any guidance on what was happening in Washington DC, the PMS (Prime Minister's Spokesman) said that she would not offer a running commentary from thousands of miles away especially when her colleagues out there were well able to brief on events and indeed there would be a press conference later this evening.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Mrs Blair

Asked why Her Majesty's Ambassador to Washington DC introduced Mrs Blair at an event last night, the PMS said that her understanding was that this was normal procedure for the Ambassador to introduce or accompany any prominent British citizen visiting Washington DC. Asked why the Ambassador was there if, as they had been told last week, that this was an entirely private visit, the PMS said she did not think that changed it at all. Asked if there had been any thought given in Downing Street about the sensitivity of the timing, the PMS said that it was entirely coincidental the Prime Minister and Mrs Blair were in Washington at the same time. Asked if it was coincidental that the Prime Minister's trip had been arranged as the same time as his wife's, the PMS said that both the Prime Minister's and the President's diary were two very busy diaries and obviously this was the time when they could meet. Asked if this raised the question about whether the Prime Minister's spouse should have stricter controls, the PMS said we had no comment to add to that media debate. Asked if it was correct that the embassy would be able to provide a list of prominent names of visitors the Ambassador had accompanied, the PMS suggested they spoke to the embassy in Washington, but his appearance had been normal procedure.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (6)

EU Constitution

Asked what the view was on how the Foreign Secretary's statement had been received in Europe, the PMS that that next week there would be a meeting of all 25 EU countries where no doubt everyone would be able to express their view. We should wait for that meeting to see what happened. People made comments all the time, but the important thing was the EU Council next week where all the countries would be attending and able to raise issues in the appropriate manner.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

EU Constitution

Asked which parts of the EU Constitution Britain wished to 'cherry-pick', the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) said that the Foreign Secretary had set out the position yesterday in his statement to the House of Commons. There would be a meeting of all the 25 leaders in Brussels next week where the Constitution would be discussed; we should wait for the outcome of that meeting.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Climate Change

Asked if we were wasting our time talking to the US about climate change when we should be talking to China, the PMS said that no doubt the Prime Minister would talking to all the leaders of the G8 during the next six months. Asked if the Prime Minister planned to go to China, the PMS said that he would be visiting China and India later in the year.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Mrs Blair

Asked if the Prime Minister was considering reviewing the rules governing the conduct of a Prime Minister's spouse, the PMS said that she hadn't discussed the issue with the Prime Minister. The Cabinet Office had been dealing with the issue and we had not made any comment.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

Cabinet Secretary

Asked when the new Cabinet Secretary would be appointed, the PMS said she did not know.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Monday, June 6, 2005

Washington Talks

Asked if there was anything else on the agenda other than G8 and the environment that might be discussed between President Bush and the Prime Minister during their meeting, for example, issues on Iran or the UN, the PMOS said that clearly, we were at an important time with regards the Middle East, and both sides, therefore, would want to update each other on Middle East issues. With regards to Iran, the E3 and the US were working very closely with each other, and we would want to compare notes on that, as we would with North Korea and Afghanistan, as it was a chance to update information. The PMOS said that it was likely that the subject of the UN would be brought up as well.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Mrs. Blair

Asked whether Mrs Blair would be joining the Prime Minister on any official engagements or be in the White House whilst she was in Washington, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said that it was a matter for the White House to talk about any invitations that they issue. The PMOS reminded journalists that Mrs Blair's visit was a private one which had coincided with the Prime Minister's and that was still the case.
Asked if the boundaries would become "blurred" should Mrs Blair join the Prime Minister on an engagement, the PMOS said that if, however, the White House issued a separate invitation to Mrs. Blair to an event, it might look rather rude to refuse.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (16)

G8/President Bush Visit

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) outlined the thinking ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to Washington DC. The visit was part of the preparations for Gleneagles, but it was not Gleneagles itself. As such we were not expecting to see a final US position tomorrow, that would come at Gleneagles. In this same way we would be meeting other leaders who would be coming to the G8. We recognised that there were large areas where we were in agreement with the US. We both agreed that Africa was a priority. President Bush had said so himself when he had met President Mbeki recently. We also both agreed that the starting point was what did Africa need. We agreed with the US that that assessment had to be about more than throwing money at the problem. It had to be based on a rigorous process of assessing not just Africa's need, but also whether proposed aid actually delivered improvement on the ground. That was the approach of the Commission for Africa. Hence it identified the need for improved government as well as increased aid, debt relief and trade access. All of that we and the US were agreed upon. We recognised what the President had already done in trebling aid to Africa from the US from one to four billion dollars. Tomorrow the Prime Minister would want to talk about increased aid, debt relief and trade but it would be against the context of what we agreed upon. It would be building both on what the President had already done in setting up the Millennium Challenge Account, what he said at Monteray and what the US had done to increase aid to Africa. Similarly on Climate Change what we believed was important was that we tried to reach agreement on what we did to address the issue, both in terms of harnessing the new technology and science and in bringing on board the emerging nations who were not part of the Kyoto process. In other words agreeing an action plan for the future. That was where the focus was rather than on continuing the disputes of the past. The time to see the product of the discussions would be at Gleneagles and not tomorrow. We believed we were making real progress and continued to believe that we would do so.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

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» Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Prime Minister in the US

Mrs Blair

EU Constitution

EU Constitution

Climate Change

Mrs Blair

Cabinet Secretary

» Monday, June 6, 2005

Washington Talks

Mrs. Blair

G8/President Bush Visit

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