Downing Street Says

Asked if the Prime Minister believed allegations by Christine Pratt from the National Bullying Helpline (NBH) that three members of Downing Street staff had been in touch with them, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that Christine Pratt had made clear that no allegations had been made against the Prime Minister.

Asked if anybody in Downing Street recognised the alleged bullying culture, the PMS said that the Civil Service had a zero tolerance attitude on bullying and harassment; there were procedures that members of the Civil Service could go through if they found themselves in such a position. Bullying was not acceptable.

Asked how seriously the Prime Minister would take the allegations if it turned out they were true, the PMS said that we took any evidence of bullying seriously.

Asked if Downing Street would expect Christine Pratt to present evidence of the allegations, the PMS said that Christine Pratt had decided to put some aspects of what had gone on at her helpline into the public domain, but that was not for us to comment on.

Asked if anyone had checked previous grievances lodged over the last three years, the PMS said the comments in question were about the current situation.

Put that the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary went on the radio this morning with the intention of smearing Christine Pratt, the PMS said that that was untrue.

Asked if anyone from Downing Street had been in contact with Christine Pratt, the PMS said no.

Asked what the Prime Minister’s general reaction was to what had happened, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was getting on with the important business of hosting a very important investment conference and preparing for his education speech tomorrow.

Asked if the PMS had ever witnessed the Prime Minister raise his voice, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had spirited discussions with lots of colleagues; he was an engaging and interesting person to work with, and everyone who worked at No 10 felt privileged to do so.

Asked if Sir Gus O’Donnell had ever spoken to the Prime Minister about his treatment of staff, the PMS said that the Cabinet Secretary had made clear that he had never given the Prime Minister a verbal warning.

Asked if the Cabinet Secretary had spoken to the Prime Minister about his behaviour informally rather than giving him a verbal warning, the PMS said that he had been clear that there was no verbal warning, which was the specific allegation made yesterday. There was nothing further to add to what Gus O’Donnell said yesterday; he had not been asked to undertake an official investigation and he did not give the Prime Minister a verbal warning. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary had many discussions and we did not comment on any private conversations that may or may not have happened.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought that Christine Pratt had been courting the media for commercial gain, the PMS said that it was not for him to comment further on Christine Pratt or the NBH.

Asked if Christine Pratt could visit Downing Street while she was in Westminster to try and resolve the situation, the PMS said that he wasn’t sure if there was anything to resolve. The allegations had not been put to Downing Street and there was nothing further for us to say.

Asked if any of the incidents described in Andrew Rawnsley’s book had happened, the PMS said that the allegations were unfounded. The Prime Minister said over the weekend that he had never hit anybody in his life and when asked if he had ever shoved anyone, he said that he did not do those sorts of things.

Asked if that meant that Andrew Rawnsley was making the whole thing up, the PMS said that the allegations in the book were not put to Downing Street directly and if they had been we would have rejected them.

Asked if the Prime Minister suspected a political motive behind what had happened, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was focussed on the business at hand.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought the NBH remained a helpful organisation, the PMS said that bullying was an important issue and any initiatives that helped to deal with it should be welcomed.

1 Comment »

So why doesn’t Brown dare to sue the author, or Mrs Pratt?

What is he so afraid of? Go on. Do it. The nation dares you.
Comment by Katie — 23 Feb 2010 on 12:35 pm | Link

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» Monday, February 22, 2010

Bullying

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