Downing Street Says

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that Cabinet this morning would be discussing Egypt, with an update from the Foreign Secretary. Following on from this there would be a discussion at the National Security Council.

The PMS reiterated what was said yesterday, that it was important for the Egyptian Government to listen to the aspirations of its people. This meant a transition to a broad-based government, including opposition figures, in order to produce real political change. It was clear from yesterday’s Cabinet appointments that this was not yet happening and we considered that to be disappointing. It was important for President Mubarak to respond to the Egyptian peoples’ call for real, visible and comprehensive change.

Asked if that meant we were dictating who should make up the Egyptian Government, the PMS said no, we were not dictating who should be in the Government. We were saying that there was a clear call for change from the Egyptian people and it was important that they responded to that.

Asked if opposition figures such as Mohamed ElBaradei should be considered for Government, the PMS said that it was not for us to dictate, but ElBaradei was the sort of figure that the regime needed to be talking to. The point about yesterday’s Cabinet appointments was that many of the appointees had served in past governments or had ties to the current regime, which did not represent the change that the Egyptian people were calling for.

Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken to any leaders overnight or this morning about the situation in Egypt, the PMS said no, but we were in close contact with our Ambassador.

Put that people were still going on holiday to the Red Sea and asked if the Foreign Office was considering changing its advice, the PMS said that the Foreign Office kept the guidance up to date and the current guidance set out our latest assessment of the situation. The numbers of British nationals waiting at Cairo airport had reduced considerably overnight and there had been a number of commercial flights leaving with spare seats, which meant there was not a sense of lots of people being unable to get out.

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» Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Egypt

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