Downing Street Says » 2006

» Thursday, November 23, 2006

Lebanon

Asked if there had been any further contact since yesterday from the Lebanese Prime Minister, or had the Syrian President been in touch, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) said not been that she was aware of.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed

Asked what would be discussed in the meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed and the Prime Minister, the PMOS said he wasn't sure but presumed it would be a full overview of the situation, not just in the Gulf, but also in the Middle East and the Prime Minister.

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

Northern Ireland

Asked about the Prime Minister's change of travel plans to Scotland tomorrow, and did they have something to do with the Northern Ireland Assembly deadline, the PMS confirmed that the Prime Minister would be travelling up tomorrow, as he was fully engaged with Northern Ireland issues this afternoon.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Scotland

Asked if the Prime Minister would be travelling to Scotland today, the PMOS said he would brief on the Prime Minister's travel for the next 24 hours later.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Forthcoming Business

The Leader said that the debate on the Queen's Speech would conclude on Monday, November 27, with Gordon Brown and John Hutton speaking for the Government. On Tuesday, November 28, the House would debate all stages of the Investment Exchanges and Clearing Houses Bill (Ed Balls). For the rest of the week, the Business would be - Wednesday, November 29: second reading of the Fraud (Trials Without A Jury) Bill (Mike O'Brien); Thursday, November 30: A motion to approve a European document relating to The Hague Convention (Joan Ryan), followed by a motion relating to the House of Commons Members' Fund (Jack Straw) and a debate on Rail Performance on a motion for the Adjournment (Tom Harris).

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Northern Ireland

Asked if the Prime Minister was involved in attempts to get the DUP to deliver its intention to nominate and deliver documents, the PMOS said that the position regarding Northern Ireland was: tomorrow is not the point at which people have to finally decide whether to go into government. Tomorrow is the point where people do have to decide whether they are serious about going forward with the St. Andrew's Agreement or they are not. Therefore tomorrow is a critical day and no one underestimates that. We all recognise that on the Unionist side there are concerns about policing and that those have to be resolved before the 26th March, and on the Republican side there are concerns about power sharing, and those have to be resolved before the 26th March.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Trident missile system

Asked to characterise the discussion at Cabinet earlier today, Mr Straw said that it had been a thorough and constructive initial debate. He added that there had been a very substantial consensus. In response to further questions, the Leader said that the process was pretty clear: there would be a White Paper to be followed, in due course, by a debate and vote on a proposition from the Government. He added that the current process was more thorough than had happened before.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Police Inquiry

No.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

House of Lords reform

Asked for an update on progress towards a White Paper, the Leader said no conclusion had been reached at present. Mr Straw said that there two related matters. One was the Government's response to the Cunningham report on the conventions, which was currently being drafted. It was hoped to publish the response quite shortly and have a debate, firstly in the House of Lords and then in the House of Commons. He said they would be in sequence since there would be a Message from the Lords to the Commons. It was possible that the debate could occur in the Lords before Christmas.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Terrorism

Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with the Conservatives that while his position on terrorism had been non-partisan the Chancellor and Dr. John Reid were behaving with an irresponsible, tough guy attitude, the PMOS said he would not go down the party road but terrorism is an issue which does need to be addressed and the public need to understand the nature of the threat we face and the efforts the Government are making to counter that threat.

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

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» Thursday, November 23, 2006

Lebanon

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Forthcoming Business

Northern Ireland

Trident missile system

Police Inquiry

House of Lords reform

Terrorism

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