Downing Street Says » 2004

» Friday, May 7, 2004

Europe Day

The PMS advised journalists that the Prime Minister would be visiting Paris on Sunday to celebrate, which was particularly appropriate since this year was the centenary of the Entente Cordiale. In the morning, the Prime Minister and President Chirac would join a debate at the Elysee with a group of 400 French and British students. This would be followed by a private working lunch attended by the Prime Minister, President Chirac and Prime Minister Raffarin. In the afternoon, the Prime Minister and the French Prime Minister would address and meet with students at the Matignon. The Prime Minister would also meet Francois Holland, the leader of the French Socialists. In answer to questions about the debate at the Elysee, the PMS said that the participating British students were currently studying in the UK. The visit was part of a programme of links between British and French university students to mark the anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.

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

China

The PMS informed journalists that the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, would be arriving in the UK on Sunday for his first visit here since taking up his appointment in March 2003. He would meet the Prime Minister for talks on Monday. There would be a Guard of Honour in the FCO Quadrangle on his arrival and a joint press conference in Downing Street. The Chinese Premier would also be meeting the Deputy Prime Minister, Jack Straw, Patricia Hewitt and Hilary Benn during his visit. Asked if this was a State Visit, the PMS said no, it was an official visit. The Chinese Premier would be a guest of the Government. Asked for how long he would be visiting the UK, the PMS said until Tuesday. It was part of a wider European trip. The two leaders had last met in July 2003 during the Prime Minister's visit to China.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

Iraq

Asked about the latest claims and pictures relating to allegations of mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by British troops, the PMS said that the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch was carrying out an investigation. That was continuing. Asked the Government's view of the pictures, the PMS repeated that the SIB was carrying out an investigation. It would not be helpful to pre-empt their findings. Asked if the Prime Minister had been made aware of the allegations made by Soldier 'C', the PMS repeated that the SIB was investigating. She had no intention of providing a running commentary on how the investigation was progressing.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (13)

» Thursday, May 6, 2004

John Scarlett

Asked if Downing Street would agree with the Opposition's suggestion that John Scarlett's appointment as Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) was 'inappropriate' since his promotion could be interpreted as pre-empting his exoneration by the Butler Inquiry, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) said that Mr Scarlett's appointment, like all Civil Service appointments, had been made on merit. She also pointed out that the Butler Inquiry was not retracing the same steps as the Hutton Inquiry. As a press release on 12 February had made clear, the Inquiry would be focussing "principally on the structures, systems and processes, rather than on the actions of individuals".

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (11)

Oil Prices

Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about rising oil prices, the PMS said that she had nothing further to add to what the Prime Minister had said about this matter in his joint press conference with the Polish President this afternoon. Asked if the Government would halt the increase in petrol prices which had been announced in the Budget if oil prices continued to rise, the PMS said she did not think it would be appropriate to get drawn into a discussion about any kind of fiscal measures which might or might not be taken.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (10)

Interest rates

Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about the rising level of interest rates, the PMS said that interest rates were a matter for the MPC. She took the opportunity to point out that Britain currently had a very strong economy, with the lowest inflation level for thirty years. In addition, the number of people in work had grown by 1.8 million in the last seven years, and unemployment was at its lowest for a whole generation. The UK also had one of the fastest growing economies in the G7.

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

Iraq

Asked if the Prime Minister had full confidence in Donald Rumsfeld as the US Defence Secretary, the PMS said that the position of Mr Rumsfeld was a matter for the US Government, not the British Prime Minister.

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

Call-Centres

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that Patricia Hewitt was making a speech on call-centres today. She would take the opportunity to outline the findings of a report on the industry and say that the UK's call-centre industry was in shape and would grow by 200,000 jobs over the next three years. She would also accept that there were areas which could be improved, such as skills, quality of customer service and perception of the industry.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

John Scarlett

The PMOS informed journalists that the Foreign Secretary was confirming today the appointment of John Scarlett as the next Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). The appointment had been made by the Foreign Secretary on the basis of a recommendation from a selection panel, following Civil Service Commission practice. The panel was chaired by the Security Intelligence Co-ordinator, Sir David Omand. Jack Straw said, "John Scarlett has the operational background, personal qualities and wide experience to be a worthy successor to Richard Dearlove".

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Iraq

Asked if additional British troops were heading for Iraq, the PMOS said that the position had not changed since he was asked this question at yesterday afternoon's briefing. The situation was kept under constant review. This was being conducted in a measured way, as you would expect. It would therefore take a bit more time to complete the process. No decision had been taken at this stage. We would let people know the outcome of the discussions when it was appropriate to do so. Asked if the UK had received a request for more troops, the PMOS said that as we had stated from the outset, we were in discussion with our Coalition allies about this matter. However, he had no intention of giving a running commentary on the process.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

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.

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» Friday, May 7, 2004

Europe Day

China

Iraq

» Thursday, May 6, 2004

John Scarlett

Oil Prices

Interest rates

Iraq

Call-Centres

John Scarlett

Iraq

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