Downing Street Says » 2006

» Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Iran

Asked if there was a read out from the London meeting on Iran, the PMOS said that this was a private meeting that had become public. Despite that he thought the intention was to keep the outcome private. Asked what it went on to inform, the PMOS said that it would hopefully inform a meeting of the IAEA Board, which we would like to be sooner rather than later.

Briefing took place at 7:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Monday, January 16, 2006

Sex Offenders/Education

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) announced that Ruth Kelly, would, with the Speaker's permission, report back to Parliament on the issue of Sex Offenders on Thursday. Asked if the Government believed that Ruth Kelly had misled the House last Thursday by claiming that those on List 99 were automatically banned for life, when in fact the list came with caveats, the PMOS said that the Government did not believe she had misled the House.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Iran

Asked about the London meeting on Iran, the PMOS said that this meeting was a signal of the growing international concern at the behaviour of the Iranian Government and also at the words of the Iranian President. That was reflected in the statement of the E3 last week and also in the meeting between President Bush and Chancellor Merkel. Our hope was that the IAEA board would support a referral to the United Nations but we should see what happened. Asked about Iran's threat to raise oil prices if they were referred to the Security Council, the PMOS said that as Angela Merkel had said in Washington, the international community would not be intimidated by Iran and therefore if that was Iran was trying to they were mistaken.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

Court Reform

Asked about proposals to remove the responsibility for dealing with people who pleaded guilty to an offence from the Courts, the PMOS said that this matter was being reviewed by the DCA. That review was being carried out in the spirit of updating our system to make sure it worked efficiently, effectively and fairly. No decision had been taken but again these were legitimate questions which were being asked. Asked if victims should be allowed to have their day in court, the PMOS stressed said that we were only talking about minor offences and therefore it was legitimate to ask whether theses things could be dealt with in a different way. Put to him that these minor offences weren't so minor to the victims of such offences, the PMOS said that what people wanted was to see justice to be done, first of all, and secondly for justice to be done speedily and effectively. Let us wait for the outcome of the review.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Other business

Asked how John Hutton could start the debate on pensions if Lord Turner had already done so, the PMOS said that Lord Turner had provided the agenda that we now had to address. It was important that we all understood the questions that were being posed before we tried to formulate the precise answers and take those answers through Parliament. There was a need to understand the background to the issue. Asked if the fact we were starting a debate indicated that the Government didn't actually know what it was going to do yet, the PMOS said that that was a very cynical view. Clearly we had been thinking about this issue, but we also thought that the country as a whole needed to think about this issue.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Friday, January 13, 2006

Iran

Asked what sort of measures against Iran Britain would be pushing for at the UN Security Council, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that first and foremost we should reflect on what had actually taken place. We had been arguing for a referral to the UN for some time now. It was significant that others were joining us now in supporting that.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

Sex Offenders/Education

Put to him that Norfolk police had said today that it was not possible for anyone on the sex offender's register to have unintentionally viewed child pornography, and asked to reconcile that claim with the reasons given by ministers for allowing someone on the register to gain employment at a school, the PMOS said that he would not get into the details of an individual case because he was not the one who had to make the assessment. What was right and proper was to take a step back and recognise that there had been borderline cases for decades.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

» Thursday, January 12, 2006

Safeguarding Children

Asked if there could be 30-40 people on the sex offenders' register working in schools, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that if journalists spoke to the department, they had used the word "small" and they had used it advisedly. His understanding was that it was not of the order suggested. Put to him that suggested he knew the number, the PMOS said the department had said small but quite rightly, as the Secretary of State had said in the House of Commons, she was not going to get involved in the business of giving provisional numbers either to the House of Commons or to the public until she was absolutely sure. The department had used the word "small" and they had done so advisedly. It was right and proper that they took the time, and be given the time, to investigate the matter properly.

Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Sex Offenders Lists

Asked when Ruth Kelly resigned, would she become the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that as he had made clear yesterday, Ruth Kelly's position remained unchanged, and would remain unchanged.

Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (16)

Northern Ireland

Asked if the Prime Minister was involved with the "On the Runs" legislation and whether the RUC widow meeting had been the decisive factor in persuading us to drop the bill, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that in terms of the Prime Minister's involvement, of course he was involved in the decision. With regards to the RUC Widows meeting, the Prime Minister explained at the time of the meeting that he was fully aware of their views and the pain that was caused not just to them, but also to other victims of the IRA by going through the legislation.

Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

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» Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Iran

» Monday, January 16, 2006

Sex Offenders/Education

Iran

Court Reform

Other business

» Friday, January 13, 2006

Iran

Sex Offenders/Education

» Thursday, January 12, 2006

Safeguarding Children

Sex Offenders Lists

Northern Ireland

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