Downing Street Says

Asked for further details about discussions that were taking place regarding the possibility of Coalition troops leaving Iraq, as confirmed by the Prime Minister during PMQs today, the PMOS said that this was nothing new. We had always made clear that we wanted to hand over control and authority to the Iraqi people and leave as soon as possible. However, as we had also made clear, we would stay until the job of creating a new democracy in Iraq had been completed and a government was in place, as well as a system guaranteeing security for all. Asked why he was being so vague when the Prime Minister had seemed much more definite in PMQs, the PMOS said the Prime Minister had simply been making the point that he was discussing with our allies how we could speed up the process and follow through on the process of ‘Iraqi-isation’. We would be able to leave once Iraqis had been trained and were able to take charge of their own security. Asked if there was a target date for a pullout towards which we were working, the PMOS said that there was a deadline of January 2005 for elections. We would withdraw once the Iraqi authorities and the Coalition had agreed that it was safe to do so. Setting an arbitrary deadline would be pointless because a pullout would depend on circumstances at the time. The process of democratisation, the transfer of authority and the Iraqi-isation of the security services would all help speed up the process of ultimate withdrawal. Asked if he was indicating that there was no possibility of withdrawal under an interim authority, the PMOS said that no one was envisaging such a scenario. However, it was clear that the process of Iraqi-isation would continue to pick up speed and eventually lead to withdrawal.

Questioned about the Prime Minister’s latest tactic of tacitly accusing the Leader of the Opposition of undermining the important job our troops were doing in Iraq by asking questions about what was going on there, the PMOS said that as a Civil Servant he was unable to comment on party political exchanges during PMQs. That said, all the Prime Minister had been doing was underlining the fact that it had not taken recent coverage of the allegations to prompt investigations. They had already been under way by the time the issue had been highlighted in the media. In addition, it was important to recognise that the allegations related to only a handful of troops. That meant that the vast majority of our forces were doing a good job, as the Governor of Basra had emphasised yesterday. Thus, while it was perfectly proper to investigate the allegations of mistreatment, people should not underestimate the contribution of those standing on the streets of Iraq day after day risking their lives for a better future for Iraqi citizens.

Asked if the Prime Minister would agree with the Foreign Secretary’s view, as stated in the House yesterday, that he did not accept the suggestion that “responsibility for dealing with matters that lie within the United States’ sectors is also shared by the United Kingdom”, the PMOS said that President Bush had expressed his abhorrence of the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US troops. We shared that view. The UK was responsible for those Iraqi prisoners being held by British forces. That was why we had investigated the allegations of mistreatment immediately they had been raised. Asked if it had been right for Mr Straw to suggest that the UK was not shamed by the US’s conduct when the UK and US were clearly in this together, the PMOS said that that the Prime Minister had recognised the damage done to the Coalition by the images which had been broadcast around the world. However, as Mr Straw had pointed out, our direct responsibility was for those prisoners being held by British forces. That was a clear distinction. Asked how many Iraqi prisoners were being held by British forces in Iraq, the PMOS said he thought the number was about eighty. He referred journalists to the MoD for a more precise figure.

Asked if the Prime Minister had seen the results of the investigation into the Mirror photographs, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had chosen his words carefully at PMQs today, as had the Defence Secretary on Monday. People would have to be patient and wait a little while longer to find out the conclusions. He took the opportunity to observe that the Mirror statement should be noted for what it did not say. He would point out that the allegations had been investigated as and when they had first arisen. It had not taken recent coverage to begin that process.

In answer to questions about Amnesty International’s report, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) confirmed that contrary to his advice to journalists yesterday, the Government had been aware of all but one of the claims contained in the report. However, all were now being addressed.

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» Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Iraq

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