» Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Operation Crevice Court Case
Asked what the response from Downing Street was following the claims by the BBC that the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) had not been given all the photographic evidence when they should have been, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said firstly the version of events put forward is not one that is universally accepted. Secondly the PMOS could not speak for the ISC because it was an independent committee. Thirdly it was precisely to go over all the evidence that the Prime Minister asked Paul Murphy and the ISC to review the material. Therefore this was precisely the sort of issue that the ISC would now be able to consider in the round having the full transcript of the court and being able to ask whatever questions it wanted.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Electoral Reform
Asked if the Prime Minister was confident that the measures the Government was taking in attempting to tackle electoral corruption and fraud, the PMOS said in terms of that you do have to look back at what has been done in the past. New measures were introduced in time for the May 2006 elections that worked well in deterring fraud and we are confident that further measures in the Electoral Administration Act of 2006 will ensure that the 2007 elections are even more secure. This was a matter that under constant review.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)
Prime Minister
Asked if it was correct that the Prime Minister would first inform HM the Queen, the PMOS said he was glad the reporter had asked the question. The distinction to bear in mind was that the Prime Minister was not announcing his resignation as Prime Minister next week. That is not what he would be doing. What the Prime Minister would be doing would be setting out his intentions but he would not be resigning as Prime Minister next week. Asked if he was resigning as leader of the Labour Party, the PMOS said it was a Party, not Government matter and the question the PMOS had been asked was about the Prime Minister's role as Head of Government. After the Prime Minister has announced his intention he will remain Prime Minister. Asked if the Prime Minister would not go and see the HM the Queen next week but after the leadership contest has been concluded, the PMOS said at last the penny had dropped. Asked if the Prime Minister would have an Audience as normal next week, the PMOS said again there are normal Audiences but that was not affected by next week's announcement. Asked would it not be odd of the Prime Minister not to mention at the Audience that he was leaving, the PMOS said that as the lobby knew the PMOS did not brief in any way on the conversations the Prime Minister has with HM the Queen. Asked what the opposite of kissing hands was, was it goodbye hugs, the PMOS said that there was a real danger of everyone getting ahead of him or herself.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
» Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Rubbish Collection
Put to him that the Prime Minister in his interview this morning had talked about "better ways" of recycling, and asked to clarify what these were, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that it was not so much better ways of recycling, as better ways of encouraging consumers to engage in recycling. But this was a matter for local authorities, and local authorities had different ways of trying to incentifise us all to contribute to recycling. The Prime Minister was referring to the different ways in which local authorities can do this.
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Scotland
Asked what the Prime Minister thought should be the relationship between the Prime Minister and the First Minister of Scotland, the PMOS replied that it was a matter for the Prime Minister and the First Minister of Scotland to work out.
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Prime Minister
Asked if any light could be cast on the timings of the Prime Minister's announcement today that he will be making an announcement next week, was it something the Prime Minister had long planned to do today or was it a comment off the cuff, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said given the subject he would not classify it as an off the cuff comment but he could not really go beyond that. Next week begins Tuesday in Northern Ireland and that was as far as he would go.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Alexander Litvinenko
Asked if the Prime Minister had discussions recently with the Attorney General regarding Alexander Litvinenko, the PMOS said not that he was aware of. He PMOS added that obviously the Prime Minister was kept aware and up-to-date with the relevant parts of the investigation but he could not go into any detail. Asked specifically if the Prime Minister had spoken to the Attorney General, the PMOS said he did not get into the details of internal discussions within Government.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Operation Crevice Court Case
Asked, by ruling out a public inquiry, if the Prime Minister understood the hurt and frustration that would be caused to the victims and relatives of victims of the 7/7 bombings, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister understood, not least because two Cabinet Ministers have been regularly meeting with the relatives. Equally however what he has to take cognizance of is not just what he knows from the briefings he gets himself from the intelligence agencies but also the conclusions of the independent Intelligence and Security Committee which has been fully aware of all the relevant material, all the way along and came to the conclusion that the prioritisation by the intelligence services was understandable. A judgement that, while the committee will go over the territory again now the court case has been completed, yesterday its chairman said he did not think would change. The other argument which we have made right from the beginning was that given the very serious nature of the level of threat that we still face we would not want to do anything that diverts senior members of the intelligence community away from their task at this crucial time.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Northern Ireland
Asked if the Prime Minister had a role in Northern Ireland in the next few days when the devolved administrations get up and running again, the PMOS said a full brief will be given nearer the time but Dr. Paisley did invite the Prime Minister to go to Northern Ireland on the day. Asked if the Prime Minister had any role in restarting the Assembly, the PMOS said no but again, Dr. Paisley invited him during PMQs. Asked if Dr. Paisley had invited the Taoiseach, the PMOS said that was a matter for the Stormont. The PMOS added that it was an occasion where all the parties in Northern Ireland want to celebrate the success of the peace process, and he expected all those who had contributed to be represented.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Memos
Asked if the Prime Minister had sent any memos to the Chancellor, the PMOS asked if the reporter could be more specific, the reporter repeated the question with no further detail, the PMOS said that if he looked puzzled that is because he was and he did not comment on internal communication either.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says.
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