Downing Street Says

Asked if there was any truth in the Telegraph story that the Government was paying a private investigator to find the mole who leaked documents regarding MPs expenses, the PMS said that that was a matter for the House Authorities rather than Government.

Put that the mole claimed to have leaked material because of the way the armed forces were funded and asked if the Prime Minister wished, as Chancellor, he had funded the armed forces better, the PMS said that in regards to all these issues on defence it was important to underline the fact that the Prime Minister had the highest regard for our armed forces and the work that they did. He recognised the armed forces immense sacrifice and on all occasions expressed his gratitude to them for this. It was a Government commitment to make sure that our forces were properly paid, properly rewarded and that they had the best equipment at all times. The figures showed that in real terms the defence budget would be eleven per cent higher in 2010/11, than it was in 1997; nobody should be in any doubt that ensuring that our armed forces were properly funded and had the best equipment was a top priority for the Prime Minister and the Government.

Put that specific questions had been raised regarding equipment, the PMS said that she had responded in terms of equipment across the board; if you looked at areas such as helicopters, for example, programmes had been brought forward, we had significantly increased the number of flying hours, and continued to look at what else could be done to improve the equipment of our troops serving on the front line. Nobody should be in any doubt that this was at the forefront of the Prime Minister s mind.

Asked if the Prime Minister felt that the mole had performed a public service by leaking the documents, the PMS said that she was not going to comment on the leak, other than to say that the Prime Minister fully understood the public s anger about this issue and supported a system that was transparent and fully accountable to the taxpayer, which was why he had introduced, through the Parliamentary Standards Bill, a new authority and had asked Sir Christopher Kelly to report back on these issues in the autumn.

Asked if the Prime Minister regretted, in retrospect, the Sky subscription, the PMS said that these issues were covered at the time.

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» Friday, September 25, 2009

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