Downing Street Says » 2004

» Monday, April 26, 2004

ID Cards

Asked to explain the sudden rush to introduce ID cards given the fact that the Government had been indicating last autumn that the decision would only be made some years hence, the PMOS said that the position had not changed since last November. The reasons for the introduction of biometric data in passports remained the same in terms of the international dimension. Similarly, the domestic reasons for introducing ID cards had not changed in terms of the focus on fraud and security and the protection of people's identity. Equally, the timetable remained the same, as did the fact that the decision on compulsion would be a matter for the Government and Parliament. Put to him that the Prime Minister himself had indicated last week that it was important to press on with ID cards, the PMOS said that as we had underlined last November, we needed to press on with sorting out the logistics of introducing such a scheme. However, the basic timescale and basic structure of the proposal remained the same.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (8)

» Friday, April 23, 2004

European Constitution/Referendum

Asked if the Education Secretary supported the Prime Minister's decision to hold a referendum on the European Constitution, the PMS said that the referendum issue had been raised briefly at Cabinet yesterday morning. There had been no dissenting voices at that meeting. She added that although she had seen the reports in the press today, she was not aware of the exact circumstances in which the Education Secretary was reported to have made his comments, or when or where he had been contacted by his local paper. Asked if Mr Clarke had been consulted in advance of the announcement being made this week, the PMS repeated that there had been no dissenting voices at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. Put to her that that would imply that there couldn't have been much of a discussion about the issue yesterday, the PMS repeated that there had been a brief discussion during which there had been no dissenting voices. Asked how 'brief' was 'brief', the PMS said that she had not attended Cabinet yesterday and was therefore unable to answer the question. Asked if yesterday's meeting had been the first time that Cabinet had discussed the issue of the referendum, the PMS reminded journalists that Patricia Hewitt had dealt with this point in an interview earlier in the week when she had confirmed that Cabinet had discussed the issue in the past. Put to her that Ms Hewitt had been consulted about the decision to hold a referendum, so her position was different to that of the Education Secretary, the PMS repeated that there had been no dissenting voices at Cabinet yesterday when the issue had been raised.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Terrorist Suspect Release

Asked if the Prime Minister shared David Blunkett's view about the release on bail of an Algerian terror suspect, the PMS said that we regretted the decision that had been taken by SIAC. Last October, SIAC had ruled at the appeal hearing that there was "reasonable suspicion that the appellant is an international terrorist within the meaning of Section 21 and reasonable belief that his presence in the UK is a risk to national security".

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (7)

Northern Ireland

Asked about the Prime Minister's meeting with Gerry Adams today, the PMS said that they would no doubt discuss the IMC report which had been published earlier in the week. Today's meeting was the latest in a series of routine meetings which the Prime Minister regularly had with all the leaders of the Northern Ireland parties. For example, he had met Mark Durkan of the SDLP on Wednesday.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

RAF Bases

Asked why Adam Ingram had announced the outcome of a review on RAF bases today when the Prime Minister had assured the House on Wednesday that he would examine the issue, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) said that she would find out about discussions which the Prime Minister might have had with the MoD since Wednesday.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Iraq

Asked for a reaction to reports that the Government was considering sending 1,700 additional troops to Iraq to replace Spanish troops once they withdrew, the PMS said that we were keeping the situation in Iraq under constant review, as you would expect. No decision had been taken at this stage regarding the deployment of further troops. Asked if a request had been made, the PMS said that discussions had been held with our Coalition partners since the announcement about the withdrawal of Spanish troops. However, no decisions had been made at this stage. Asked about the possibility that British troops might be asked to patrol areas deep within the 'Sunni Triangle', the PMS said she had no doubt that all the relevant issues would be looked at were any decisions to be taken.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Thursday, April 22, 2004

Prime Minister’s press conference

[This is the transcript of one of the Prime Minister's occasional press conferences; these are the words of the Prime Minister giving a statement and answering the questions of journalists. Unlike the PMOS's briefings, this is a more-or-less verbatim transcript of the Prime Minister's words. Such press conferences happen about once a month, and occasionally more often.]

Briefing took place at 18:20 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

European Constitution

Asked if the Prime Minister had definitely ruled out the option of a second referendum, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that as the Prime Minister had underlined this morning, he would go into a referendum with the intention of winning the campaign. Moreover, it was impossible to predict what might happen if the result was no - other than the fact that he would have to attend a meeting of the European Council to attempt to sort out the situation. Asked if he was suggesting that the door to holding a second referendum was being left ajar, the PMOS said that he wasn't suggesting anything. He was simply making the point that it was impossible to predict what might happen if there was a no vote. One thing people could be sure, however, was that if the Prime Minister agreed to a Treaty this summer which met our red lines, he would go into the referendum campaign with the intention of winning it.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Oil-for-food programme

Asked for a reaction to the revelations regarding the UN Oil-For-Food Programme, the PMOS said that it was a matter for the UN. They had been well aware of our concerns in the past. We welcomed the fact that they had set up an inquiry and we believed that they should be given the time and space to carry it out. Asked to detail the concerns we had expressed, the PMOS said that they had been about the operation of the Oil-For-Food Programme and had been raised through the usual channels. Asked if our concerns had coloured our attitude to Iraq last February/March, the PMOS said that the decisions which had been made at that time had been taken primarily for other reasons. However, our awareness of the situation had formed part of the backdrop to our assessment as to how effective sanctions were in the long term. Asked if Downing Street was concerned about the reported involvement of a British MP, the PMOS said he thought it would be more helpful to allow the UN to carry out its inquiry and reach definite conclusions before responding to any claims that had been made.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Euro

Asked if the Government remained committed to a referendum on the Euro, the PMOS said that Patricia Hewitt had dealt with this issue in her Today Programme interview this morning. As the Prime Minister had made clear repeatedly, it would depend on the economics being right. We had no intention of producing weekly scorecards with a rating of 1-10. There would be a proper assessment and a proper decision would be made.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

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.

The unofficial site which lets you comment on the UK Prime Minister's official briefings. About us...

» Monday, April 26, 2004

ID Cards

» Friday, April 23, 2004

European Constitution/Referendum

Terrorist Suspect Release

Northern Ireland

RAF Bases

Iraq

» Thursday, April 22, 2004

Prime Minister’s press conference

European Constitution

Oil-for-food programme

» Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Euro

Search

Supported by

Recent Briefings

Archives

Links

Syndicate (RSS/XML)

Credits

Enquiries