Downing Street Says » No10 Allegations

Asked if he could confirm whether the Cabinet Secretary met with Andrew Rawnsley during the preparations for his book, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that he had nothing to add to what Sir Gus O’Donnell had said in the last few days.

Put that it was reasonable for the press to know whether they had met, the PMS replied that he had authorised a statement on Saturday that had made clear that the allegations made by Andrew Rawnsley were never put to Downing Street. The PMS said that he did not see it as a matter of such public importance that he should be asked who the Cabinet Secretary had or had not seen and it was not for him to speak on behalf of Sir Gus O’Donnell.

Asked whether the Cabinet Secretary had spoken to him about Andrew Rawnsley, the PMS said that wasn’t something he was prepared to answer; he was prepared to answer questions about whether the Cabinet Secretary addressed the subject of the Prime Minister’s behaviour.

Asked whether all meetings the Cabinet Secretary attended were a matter of public record, the PMS said that not all meetings were registered.

Asked if Downing Street were still saying that these were allegations without foundation, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister himself had said that the central allegation of him hitting or shoving staff was simply not true. There were also allegations of the Cabinet Secretary talking to the Prime Minister about his behaviour towards staff in No10, which the Cabinet Secretary had dealt with.

Put that one of the allegations was that the Prime Minister removed a member of staff from their computer because he was not satisfied with her performance, the PMS said that he would not talk about any of the allegations.

Put that there was allegedly an email chain referring to the incident, the PMS said he certainly hadn’t seen it.

Put that there was a parliamentary answer from Tom Watson documenting five cases of bullying in the Cabinet Office, the PMS made clear that that answer was in regard to the Cabinet Office as a whole; Downing Street was converged with the Cabinet Office, so that data did not necessarily refer to Downing Street itself.

Put that this was about the Prime Minister’s behaviour, on occasion, falling below the standard that most people in this country considered acceptable, the PMS replied that he did not accept the premise of the question.

The Prime Minister himself had said that he was a passionate man who felt very strongly about things and the PMS referred people to his comments on GMTV this morning.

Asked why it was ok for Jeremy Heywood to admit that he had had dinner with Andrew Rawnsley and not Sir Gus O’Donnell, the PMS replied that Jeremy Heywood’s meeting with Andrew Rawnsley was in the public domain and it was not for him to say who Sir Gus O’Donnell saw or did not see in meetings unless it was a matter of public record.

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» Wednesday, February 24, 2010

No10 Allegations

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