Downing Street Says » David Blunkett

Asked if Alan Budd was going to head the Blunkett Review, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that it was true, and it had just been announced.

Asked if Alan Budd was a controversial figure to be chosen to lead the Review due to his role with previous gambling laws, and whether his past would therefore be used against him as a result, the PMOS replied that he could not see any connection between gambling and the current issue at hand. The important thing was that the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office thought Alan Budd was the correct person for the job.

Asked if the Prime Minister had ever entertained David Blunkett and Kimberley Quinn as a couple at any social function in Downing Street, the PMOS said he was not aware of any such entertainment, but he also would not comment at all on the Prime Minister’s dinner guest lists.

Asked whether Kimberley Quinn had attended a Buckingham Palace event at the same time as David Blunkett, and were they attending as a couple, the PMOS said it was not a Downing Street matter and not therefore one for him to comment on.

Asked if David Blunkett and Kimberley Quinn had stayed at Chequers together, the PMOS asked if the lobby that afternoon had turned into ""20 fatuous Questions!" He said that a) he would not have known that sort of information off the top of his head, b) he would not release it, even if he had known it, and c) he was not going to get into playing games about personal matters.

Asked if it reflected badly on the Prime Minister’s judgement if he had entertained a married woman and her "boyfriend", the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had made it very clear in his press conference earlier that he believed senior politicians were entitled to a private life, just like anybody else. The key question, however, was how people performed their jobs.

Asked if it would be ok therefore to have invited the Home Secretary and someone else’s wife to a social function on state property, the PMOS said he would not answer a hypothetical question, especially one that involved people’s private lives.

Asked if the Prime Minister had had advance knowledge about David Blunkett’s relationship with Kimberly Quinn, the PMOS repeated what the Prime Minister had said earlier, which was that he was not going to comment on people’s private lives. The PMOS said that nothing should be read into that answer either way.
Asked whether the Prime Minister’s comments earlier about Ministers keeping their public and private lives separated meant that therefore, Ministers could do what they wanted, as long as the job got done, with no reflection back on the Government, the PMOS repeated that politicians were entitled to a private life. How they did their jobs wwas a different matter.

Asked why Peter Mandelson had "had to go twice", the PMOS said he was not going to talk about old cases, as people could read all the old history from that period, and the reasons behind it all.

Asked if the Prime Minister’s earlier comment that he had "no doubt" that David Blunkett would be cleared in the inquiry would therefore prejudice the inquiry, the PMOS said there was now an independent person who had been appointed by the Permanent Secretary of the department to go through the matter. What the Prime Minister was referring to was his trust in the actions of David Blunkett as Home Secretary. It was David Blunkett who had asked for the independent inquiry review to be held.

Asked about the term of the inquiry to be further clarified, the PMOS said it would be better for people to approach the Home Office instead.

2 Comments »

Im a 27 year old Interior designer from surrey, I have watched and listened with great interest to the outcome of this very sad sorry. I have great sympathy for the people involved, but also i believe that it is a matter of public concern, not just interest. There is no sensible way out of this without clarity. Our prime minister would greatly benifit from tax payers as myself, by showing us a clear and straight foward story. Labour threatens to be eaten alive in this electoral year. People like myself will need to feel a more stabling force,Is tony still an unbiast leader? Role on gordon brown.
Comment by camilla Lewis — 8 Feb 2005 on 5:48 am | Link
Im a 27 year old Interior designer from surrey, I have watched and listened with great interest to the outcome of this very sad sorry. I have great sympathy for the people involved, but also i believe that it is a matter of public concern, not just interest. There is no sensible way out of this without clarity. Our prime minister would greatly benifit from tax payers as myself, by showing us a clear and straight foward story. Labour threatens to be eaten alive in this electoral year. People like myself will need to feel a more stabling force,Is tony still an unbiast leader? Role on gordon brown.
Comment by camilla Lewis — 8 Feb 2005 on 5:50 am | Link

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» Monday, November 29, 2004

David Blunkett

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