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?

» Thursday, March 21, 2013

Shares for rights

Asked what the future for the Governments policy on shares for rights was since last nights vote in the House of Lords the PMS said the Government’s policy objectives remained the same and the department responsible would know the details of the next steps.

Scottish Independence

Asked on what plans the Government had on persuading the Scottish people to vote no in next year’s referendum on independence the PMS said that there was a team in place to put the case to the Scottish people and that Scotland remaining as part of the union made both nations stronger.

» Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Press Briefing – morning 20 March

Wednesday 20 March 2013 The Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) answered questions on Cabinet, unemployment figures, Leveson, Cyprus and Syria The Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) answered questions on Cabinet, unemployment figures, Leveson, Cyprus and Syria.

Cabinet

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) briefed the lobby on the morning’s cabinet meeting which took place ahead of the budget. He said that the Chancellor had set out the economic case and that it was vital in tough times to stick to the course and tackle the deficit while continuing to support aspiration. He […]

Unemployment figs

The PMOS said that these were mixed figures but pointed to the positives: unemployment was down 136,000 in the last year; since May 2010, 1.25m extra jobs had been created; along with 1m apprenticeships; and 100k young people had been given work experience through youth contracts. He told journalists that at the heart of the […]

Leveson

When asked about press hostility to a Royal Charter, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister’s view as set out in the House on Monday remained: that this was a workable solution which had been agreed with cross-party support and it was time for the press to get on and set up the independent self-regulator.

Cyprus

Asked whether the Prime Minister was concerned by the vote in the Cypriot parliament yesterday, the PMOS said that it was clearly in everyone’s interests for Cyprus to tackle its financial difficulties and that that there was stability in the Eurozone – especially as a major export market for the UK. He said that discussions […]

Syria

Asked if the Prime Minister had discussions with anyone about the alleged chemical or biological weapons attacks in Syria, the PMOS confirmed that British authorities were working with a range of international partners to establish the facts. He referred lobby to the FCO statement issued yesterday and said that the Prime Minister’s view is that […]

» Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Press briefing – afternoon 19 March

Tuesday 19 March 2013 The Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) answered questions on the Cyprus, Syria, Budget, the Falkland Islands, David Nicholson, Nuclear power station and Leveson Inquiry The Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) answered questions on the Cyprus, Syria, Budget, the Falkland Islands, David Nicholson, Nuclear power station and Leveson Inquiry.

Cyprus

Asked about the financial situation in Cyprus the PMS said that as the Chancellor made clear at Cabinet no serving UK military personnel will lose out.

Syria

Asked what the PM’s view was regarding reports that chemical weapons have been used in Aleppo, Syria the PMS said we are aware of the reports and it is being looked into.

Budget

Asked about today’s Written Ministerial Statement on pension reform the PMS said the policy remains the same as when the Treasury set it out and the only change is that it has been bought forward by a year.

Falkland Islands

Asked if the PM thought that it was appropriate for the President of Argentina to lobby the Pope over the Falkland Islands the PMS said how the Argentine Government chooses to express itself is a matter for them and that in the recent Falkland Islands referendum the people expressed their views very clearly.

David Nicholson

Asked if the PM still has full confidence in David Nicholson the PMS replied yes and he added in relation to Mr Nicholson’s apology over whistleblowers at the PAC yesterday the PM thinks that the position the Health Secretary set out recently is absolutely the right approach.

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.

» Thursday, March 21, 2013

Shares for rights

Scottish Independence

» Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Press Briefing – morning 20 March

Cabinet

Unemployment figs

Leveson

Cyprus

Syria

» Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Press briefing – afternoon 19 March

Cyprus

Syria

Budget

Falkland Islands

David Nicholson

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