Downing Street Says » 2005

» Monday, December 12, 2005

Fuel Depot Fire

Asked if there would be a statement in the House about the fuel depot explosion, the PMOS said it was possible, but it was still being considered.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (5)

Mr. Kember

Asked what the Prime Minister's thoughts were on Mr. Kember, the PMOS said that as he had said all along, he was not going to comment on the situation, as it was not in anybody's interests to raise the profile of this issue beyond what the Foreign Office advised.

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

Montreal Summit-WTO

Asked if the resolution of the Montreal Summit meant we were closer to being in a more optimistic frame of mind about the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Hong Kong, the PMOS replied that what it showed was the value of identifying and pushing an issue and the Prime Minister would pay tribute to the efforts of Margaret Beckett and her team who had done so. We had moved the agenda forward this year on climate change, and this was not only our judgement, but also the judgement of many of those who attended the Montreal talks. It showed the value of not only identifying an issue, but also persisting with it. To that extent, it applied equally in trade, where whatever the outcome of Hong Kong turned out to be, the Prime Minister would push the agenda forward on it.

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

» Friday, December 9, 2005

Europe

Asked if by the time the Prime Minister spoke this afternoon, there might be a clear idea of any new proposals on the EU budget, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMOS) replied that as he had said yesterday, and as was the pattern for these kinds of negotiations, the Presidency had put down proposals. Discussions would then take place with member countries, and then new proposals were put down. However, any new proposals would not be put down until the middle of next week.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Workers’ Hours

Asked if it was the Government's position that they were happy to have a cap on British workers' hours not exceeding 65, the PMOS said that this was a matter that was of continuing discussion. The report in the Guardian that said that there was a decision yesterday was not correct. There was no question of a decision being taken, or a date being set, and there was a good of support in Europe for retaining the opt-out. The PMOS said that those discussions were continuing, and we would continue to work on this to the end of our Presidency.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

G8 plus 5

Asked to clarify if the G8 (Group of Eight) plus 5 were not going ahead with a meeting before the WTO, the PMOS said that it had been dependent on the outcome of the G7 meeting last weekend. While some progress was made, people could detect that there were still major differences there, and that remained the position. We would continue to consider the implications, but the fact remained that there were still differences there.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Thursday, December 8, 2005

Europe

Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken to President Chirac, and if not, was he planning to in the next few days, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had not spoken to President Chirac again since Tuesday. The PMOS also said that the system was in touch with representatives of all countries as we approached the final stages of this negotiation. If we needed to speak to President Chirac again, then we would. There was a recognition around Europe that everyone would face difficult choices.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

EU Budget

Asked for a flavour of the bi-lateral discussions the Prime Minister had held so far with other EU Prime Ministers today, the Prime minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that whilst all came with specific issues which he could not comment on, they, equally, all believed that there was a serious basis for possible agreement here. That did not mean that there would definitely be agreement but everybody understood that this was a serious effort. All those we had spoken to so far had supported the review clause with regards to the CAP and the budget. Serious discussions were taking place and would continue. Asked if that included talks with Angela Merkel, the PMOS said that he had been primarily talking about the talks which had taken place today. With regards to the conversation with Chancellor Merkel earlier this week, that had been very constructive. We understood where she was coming from and she understood where we were coming from.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Norman Kember

Asked if the Government considered Abu Qatada an effective spokesman in the hostage situation, the PMOS relied that he had been very careful not to become involved in commenting on this situation. He had taken that position for a good reason, and he was going to maintain that position. The Foreign Office were dealing with it, and he advised people to speak to them for information.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

Law Lords’ Judgement re: Torture

Put that following the Law Lords' judgement on torture this morning, would the Government now say that it would not use evidence gained form torture, the PMOS replied that it was a difficult and complex case, and therefore he was sure that people would appreciate why he would not comment before considering the detail of the judgement, as it was right and proper that it was studied first. We had made it clear that we did not condone torture in any way.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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» Monday, December 12, 2005

Fuel Depot Fire

Mr. Kember

Montreal Summit-WTO

» Friday, December 9, 2005

Europe

Workers’ Hours

G8 plus 5

» Thursday, December 8, 2005

Europe

EU Budget

Norman Kember

Law Lords’ Judgement re: Torture

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