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» Wednesday, June 9, 2004

John Reid/Smoking

Asked again if the Government endorsed John Reid's remarks on smoking, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) said that she had dealt with this issue at great length at this morning's briefing and she did not think there was any real point in going through it all again. Briefly, Dr Reid had been expressing a view. A consultation exercise on smoking and public health was currently ongoing. We wanted people to debate these issues and we wanted to hear their views. She advised journalists to actually read Dr Reid's comments, rather than base their questions on media interpretations.Put to her that the criticisms of Dr Reid related to the fact that he had described smoking as a "pleasure", the PMS said that Dr Reid had been reflecting a view that some people actually enjoyed smoking - something that should not come as a surprise to anyone.

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

PM/Dentist

Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister had an NHS dentist, the PMS later informed journalists that he did.

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

Postal Ballots

Asked if the Government would be judging the success of the postal ballot pilots purely on the question of turnout or on the level of fraud, the PMS said that as she had told journalists this morning, postal ballot pilots which had been run in the past had shown no greater evidence of fraud than in the more traditional ways of voting. It went without saying that the Government would condemn absolutely anyone behaving fraudulently or attempting to influence the way in which people voted. The idea of a postal vote was to try to encourage greater voter participation. There were four pilots in these elections, the results of which would be evaluated afterwards. This would include examining the level of fraud that had taken place. Asked if the idea of postal ballots would be abandoned if the level of fraud was found to be high, the PMS said that it was pointless to debate hypothetical scenarios at this stage. The elections were tomorrow. People should exercise a little patience and wait for the results. The allegations which had already been raised were being investigated, as you would expect. She reminded journalists that offences relating to personation carried a penalty of up to two years in prison. These things were clearly taken very seriously. Asked if the Government's aim was to have an all-postal ballot at a future General Election, the PMS said she was not aware of any plans to take the idea forward to that degree at this stage. At the moment, we were looking at ways to encourage people to participate in the electoral system.

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

Prime Minister/Interviews

Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister had anything against being interviewed John Humphrys in the light of the Leader of the Opposition's comments on the Today Programme this morning, and whether he would submit to being interviewed by Mr Humphrys in the future, the PMS said that she was unable to rule anything in or out. She pointed out that the Prime Minister had been interviewed by the Today Programme yesterday. Put to her that he had been interviewed by Jim Naughtie in a pre-record the day before (Monday afternoon), the PMS pointed out that that was because the Prime Minister had been due to depart for the G8 Summit in Georgia yesterday morning. She underlined that we were not in the business of ruling out any interview with any particular individual.

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

President Reagan

Asked if the Prime Minister would be attending President Reagan's funeral on Friday, the PMS said yes. Buckingham Palace had also announced today that the Prince of Wales would be attending on behalf of HM Queen.

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

G8

The Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister was in Georgia today to attend the G8 Summit. This morning, he would have a bilateral with President Bush. This would be followed by a discussion by G8 leaders on the Middle East. A number of Middle Eastern leaders were in Georgia this week, including the King of Jordan, the President of Algeria, the President of Yemen and President Karzai of Afghanistan.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

John Reid/Smoking

Asked if it was Government policy to "allow the working-classes to smoke themselves to death", the PMS said that John Reid had been speaking at a Big Conversation event at which he had made a number of comments. As a Civil Servant, she was unable to comment on political issues. That said, the aim of Big Conversation and other Government events was to encourage debate and discussion about a whole range of issues. For example, consultation exercises were currently taking place on public health and smoking. The whole point of such exercises was to allow people to put forward what were often very different views. Asked if Ministers were allowed to express different views, the PMS repeated that the purpose of such discussions was to have a public debate. Dr Reid's comments had clearly provoked an even greater debate on the issue of smoking. Pressed as to whether Ministers should be allowed to put forward different views to the Prime Minister in the light of the fact that the Prime Minister had said that smoking should be banned in public places, the PMS pointed out that the Prime Minister had not, in fact, said that smoking should be banned in public places. All he had stated was that a public consultation exercise on the issue should be held, at the end of which a policy would emerge. Asked when the consultation was due to be completed, the PMS said that it was due to finish at the end of the summer.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (6)

Postal Ballots

Asked if the Prime Minister had voted by post before departing for the G8 Summit, the PMS said yes. Asked if the Government was concerned about new evidence of voting fraud in the postal ballot pilots, the PMS said that the allegations were being investigated, as you would expect. It went without saying that the Government would be concerned about any illegal activity. If the allegations proved to be true, it could result in criminal proceedings. For example, offences relating to personation carried a penalty of up to two years in prison. We would condemn any attempt to influence the results of elections by fraud or intimidation. In the pilot schemes which had been run in the past, the level of fraud had been no higher than in the more traditional way of voting. We would have to wait until after tomorrow's elections before the latest figures could be compiled.

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

Muslim Schools

Asked for a reaction to today's report urging for more Muslim state schools to be set up, the PMS said that in the Government's view, these issues should be dealt with at a local level so that local circumstances could be taken into account before a decision was made. The Government was not actively involved in a campaign for more faith schools, but continued to support those that already existed. Asked if the Government would provide funds for Muslim schools, the PMS repeated that decisions as to whether faith schools should be opened had to be made at a local level by the School Organisation Committee for that particular area. Asked if the Government agreed with the report's conclusion about the problems encountered by Muslim schoolchildren, the PMS said that the Government was committed to raising standards throughout the school system, regardless of pupils' religious or social background. We wanted schools and teachers to respect the different faiths and customs of their pupils.

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

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» Wednesday, June 9, 2004

John Reid/Smoking

PM/Dentist

Postal Ballots

Prime Minister/Interviews

President Reagan

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John Reid/Smoking

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