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, August 15, 2011

50p tax rate

Asked whether the Prime Minister thought the 50p tax rate should be scrapped, the PMS responded that tax decisions were taken by the Chancellor in budgets and added that in the budget earlier this year, the Treasury had said that they had asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to look at the revenues being raised […]

Libya

Asked whether we were at the tipping point in Libya, the PMS responded that we had seen some progress over the weekend which was welcome. The PMS added that the Government had been saying for some time that it thought the NATO operation was proving successful in eroding Qadhaffi’s ability to wage war against his […]

» Monday, August 8, 2011

Morning press briefing for 8 August 2011

Monday 8 August 2011 Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesperson on: economy, PM’s holiday, riots, EU referendum, hanging debate, quangos, MET Commissioner. original source.

Economy

Asked about the Prime Minister’s assessment of the economic situation and whether he was reassured by the markets, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) referred the assembled press to the position set out by the Chancellor in his article that morning. The PMS pointed out that clearly the UK was not immune from global events and […]

PM’s holiday

Asked whether the Prime Minister had contemplated cutting short his holiday at any point, the PMS pointed to the Deputy Prime Minister’s comments that morning where he had said that the Government continued to function in the same way it did during the rest of the year. The PMS said that the Prime Minister has […]

Riots

When asked whether the Prime Minister had spoken to Boris Johnson, the PMS said that he wasn’t aware of any call with Boris Johnson but that the Prime Minister had spoken to the Home Secretary and the acting Commissioner of the Met Police the previous day. The PMS added that the Home Secretary had spoken […]

EU referendum

Asked if the Prime Minister thought the 1975 referendum on the EU was the end of the matter, the PMS said the position on the EU referendum was as set out in the Coalition Agreement. original source.

Hanging debate

Asked if the Prime Minister would welcome a parliamentary debate on hanging, the PMS said that as he understood that system the public could put forward ideas for things that might be the subject of debate at parliament. Put that it was important for the political class to listen to the public, the PMS said […]

Quangos

Asked if the Prime Minister was shocked by the series of reports suggesting quangos are continuing to hire people at a rate of knots, the PMS pointed to the very clear rules in place setting out that quangos should only be recruiting people if they were real frontline requirements and that there was a process […]

MET Commissioner

In response to questions on whether the Prime Minister had approached Bill Bratton to lead the Met, the PMS referred assembled press to the recent Downing Street statement on this subject. original source.

» Monday, August 1, 2011

Morning press briefing for 1 August 2011

Monday 1 August 2011 Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesperson on: US debt crisis, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Prime Minister’s holiday. original source.

US Debt crisis

Asked for the Government’s reaction to the US deal to tackle the debt crisis, the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) noted that the process was ongoing but said the Government welcomed progress being made. The PMS said there had been a time of international economic uncertainty, whether in the US, the Eurozone or from commodity prices, […]

Libya

Asked about the Government’s position in Libya, the PMS replied that the Government recognises the Transitional Government as the legitimate leading party in Libya and would be working with them. Asked if the approach in Libya would be reviewed, the PMS said that the UK’s role is clear; we support the UN Resolution 1973 to […]

Syria

Asked why the approach to Libya and Syria was different, the PMS stated that the situations were different but, as the Foreign Secretary said earlier today, the acts in Syria were appalling and such violence is to be condemned and should be stopped. The PMS said that Government would continue to apply pressure where possible. […]

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, August 15, 2011

50p tax rate

Libya

» Monday, August 8, 2011

Morning press briefing for 8 August 2011

Economy

PM’s holiday

Riots

EU referendum

Hanging debate

Quangos

MET Commissioner

» Monday, August 1, 2011

Morning press briefing for 1 August 2011

US Debt crisis

Libya

Syria

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