Downing Street Says ... Every day the Prime Minister’s Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as ‘the lobby’ for a topical chat, or ‘briefing’.

Every day the Prime Minister's Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as 'the lobby' for a topical chat, or 'briefing'.

Downing Street Says... is an unofficial site that lets you read summaries of these briefings and add your own comments. Want to know more?

» Monday, November 14, 2011

Lord Mayor’s banquet speech

Asked if the Prime Minister would address comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the need for unity in the Eurozone in his speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet that night, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said the speech would cover a wide range of foreign policy issues. Asked if the Archbishop of Canterbury was […]

Eurozone

Asked if the Prime Minister would be seeing Chancellor Merkel later that week, the PMS said no meetings had been confirmed. He added the Prime Minister would take the opportunity over the coming weeks to speak to and possibly see some of his opposite numbers in other European countries ahead of the European Council in […]

Fuel prices

Asked if the vote of fuel pricing would be whipped, the PMS said he was unaware of whipping arrangements. Asked if the Government was in favour of the motion, the PMS said the Government made our position clear in the Budget when we decided to cut fuel duty, but future decisions were a matter for […]

Sure Start Centres

Asked why the Department for Education has confirmed Sure Start closures when the Prime Minister had pledged to protect Sure Start centres before the election, the PMS said that of the figure of 124 fewer Sure Start centres quoted was misleading. Only six centres had closed. The remainder were due to reorganisation and mergers of […]

» Friday, November 11, 2011

Morning press briefing for 11 November 2011

Friday 11 November 2011 Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesperson on: Eurozone, 50p tax rate, fuel prices, UKBA and Scottish referendum original source.

Eurozone

Asked if the Prime Minister had had any conversations with President Obama, Chancellor Merkel or President Sarkozy in the last 72 hours and if not what was he doing to address the crisis, the PMS said there had been lots of conversations with these leaders in recent weeks. He said the Prime Minister was focussed […]

50p tax rate

Asked if the Prime Mister agreed that one way to stimulate growth would be to abolish the 50p tax rate, the PMS said our priority was to protect the UK economy from the global economic storm. He referred to the Chancellor’s comments in the Budget that the 50p tax rate should be a temporary measure, […]

Fuel prices

Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about fuel prices, the PMS said the Prime Minister recognised that the cost of petrol was a concern for many families that rely on their car, which is why we removed the fuel duty escalator in the Budget and cut fuel duty, and as a result petrol was […]

UKBA

Asked if Sir Gus O’Donnell had received and would act on a letter from Simon Danczuk MP asking him to investigate claims Home office special advisors briefed against the former head of the UK Border Agency Brodie Clark, the PMS said he understood that Sir Gus O’Donnell had not yet received a letter. original source.

Scottish Referendum

Asked if the PM was considering a UK referendum on Scottish independence, the PMS said a referendum was something the Scottish Government wanted, and the next step was for them to set out their plans. original source.

» Thursday, November 10, 2011

Afternoon press briefing 10 November 2011

Thursday 10 November 2011 Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesperson on the Eurozone original source.

Eurozone

Asked what contingency plans were being made to protect the UK economy following comments in the Prime Minister’s speech earlier that day, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said the Treasury does contingency planning on a routine basis but we don’t provide a commentary on that work. Asked if there was any involvement from other departments, […]

Morning press briefing for 10 November 2011

Thursday 10 November 2011 Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesperson on: Eurozone, Remembrance Day poppies and fuel prices original source.

Eurozone

Put that talks were taking place in Europe on establishing a smaller core to the Eurozone, the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) told the assembled media that a response to these claims had already been issued by both the French Finance Ministry and the spokesperson for Angela Merkel. The PMS said that both parties had said […]

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.

» Monday, November 14, 2011

Lord Mayor’s banquet speech

Eurozone

Fuel prices

Sure Start Centres

» Friday, November 11, 2011

Morning press briefing for 11 November 2011

Eurozone

50p tax rate

Fuel prices

UKBA

Scottish Referendum

» Thursday, November 10, 2011

Afternoon press briefing 10 November 2011

Eurozone

Morning press briefing for 10 November 2011

Eurozone

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