Downing Street Says » 2004

» Wednesday, June 16, 2004

PM Press Conference

Asked if the Prime Minister had "lost any threads" today in the light of speculation about his press conference performance yesterday, the PMOS said that as he had told journalists yesterday afternoon, the Prime Minister had been giving a considered answer to a considered question posed by a serious journalist from a serious paper. Asked if he was in perfect health, the PMOS said yes. If journalists had bothered to turn up to yesterday afternoon's press briefing, they would have heard him lay this matter to rest, not "lost the thread" of the story themselves.

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

» Tuesday, June 15, 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 18:30 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

PM Press Conference

Asked if the Prime Minister had had cause to see a doctor recently, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said no. If he was being asked about the Guardian correspondent's question to the Prime Minister during the press conference, he would merely point out that the Prime Minister had simply been giving a considered reply to what had been a considered question by a respected journalist in which he had paused before responding. He was aware that some parts of the media were reading more into it, but there was really nothing more to it than that. Asked if he was saying that the Prime Minister was in perfect health, the PMOS said yes.

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

Chancellor

Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken to the Chancellor today, sent him a card or present or bought him a drink to congratulate him on taking over from David Lloyd-George as Britain's longest serving Chancellor, the PMOS said he didn't know. In any event, the Prime Minister congratulated the Chancellor every day for his excellent management of the economy. Asked if they had spoken today to discuss the Chancellor's Mansion House speech tomorrow or the forthcoming European Council meeting, the PMOS said that they were in regular contact, as you would expect. Today was no exception to the norm. Asked if the Prime Minister would like the Chancellor to serve another seven years in his post, the PMOS congratulated the journalist on the predictability of his question - but on little else.

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

Five-Year Plans

Asked when the first of the five-year Departmental plans would be published, the PMOS said that as the Prime Minister had mentioned in his press conference this morning, the Department of Health's five-year plan would be published next week. We would announce when other Departments would be publishing their plans in due course. Asked when the Chancellor would unveil the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), the PMOS said that a precise date had not yet been set.

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

» Monday, June 14, 2004

Europe

Asked again if the European election results had changed the Prime Minister's position on any aspects of this week's European Council meeting in Brussels, the PMOS said no. He referred journalists to Paragraph 66 of the IGC White Paper which stated, "We will insist that unanimity remain for Treaty Change and in other areas of vital national interest such as tax, social security, defence, key areas of criminal procedural law and the system of own resources. Unanimity must remain the general rule for common foreign and security policy, as proposed in the final Convention text". That position had not changed.

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

Europe

Asked about this week's European Council in Brussels, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that everyone, including our European partners, was aware of what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to see a Constitution which would allow the enlarged EU to work together effectively in the interests of this country. However, that could only happen if the red lines, which we had established, were respected. This included, for example, ensuring that the new Charter did not in any way impinge on our local laws in relation to issues such as strikes and the like. Obviously there was more work to be done on these matters. It was also important to recognise that the issue of vote weighting, which had proven to be an obstacle in reaching an agreement last December, had yet to be resolved, if that was at all possible to do. This was not something in which we were particularly involved.

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

Iraq

Asked if the Prime Minister's apology on Friday had referred to the war on Iraq, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had not apologised for the war because he believed it had been the right thing to do. It was surely a good thing that the Iraqi people had been given the opportunity to determine their own future. The President of Iraq had described to the G8 leaders last week what life had really been like under Saddam. It was true that there were still some difficulties post-war, as illustrated by the murder today of two Britons in Iraq. We extended our deepest sympathy to their families. However, Iraq today was far better because the Iraqi people were able to determine their own future and no longer had to live under the real terror of a tyrannical regime.

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

Euro 2004

Asked the Prime Minister's reaction to last night's England v France Euro 2004 match, the PMOS said that he had forgotten to ask the Prime Minister about the game, primarily because he didn't want to intrude on his private grief. Surely, things could only get better?

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (4)

» Friday, June 11, 2004

Birthday Honours List

The Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) said the 2004 Birthday Honours List reflected and paid tribute to outstanding achievement and service right across the community and the nation as a whole. As with previous lists a key aim had been to reward those who worked and served at the sharp end - people who had really changed things, or who had given outstanding service to others in difficult situations.

Briefing took place at 11:45 | 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.

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» Wednesday, June 16, 2004

PM Press Conference

» Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Prime Minister’s press conference

PM Press Conference

Chancellor

Five-Year Plans

» Monday, June 14, 2004

Europe

Europe

Iraq

Euro 2004

» Friday, June 11, 2004

Birthday Honours List

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