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» Thursday, July 1, 2004

Iraq

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

Saddam Hussein

Asked if the Prime Minister had been "paying any attention" to Saddam Hussein's appearance in an Iraqi court today, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the Prime Minister was obviously aware that Saddam had been in court today. The Iraqi people knew what Saddam had done, as indeed did Saddam himself. The important thing was that they had seen the beginning of a transparent judicial process, something that hadn't been possible under the previous regime. Asked if the Prime Minister was satisfied at the way the whole process had been conducted, the PMOS said that as he had told journalists earlier this week, it was essential that people changed their mindsets and recognised that Iraq was now a sovereign country. That meant that it would do things its own way. The underlying message in today's proceedings was the fact that the new Iraqi Government was committed to a transparent judicial process, which was something that had not been possible under Saddam's rule. Asked if he was implying that the British Government would have preferred the new Iraqi Government to have acted differently on various issues, the PMOS said no. He had simply been making the point that it was important for people to recognise that, as a sovereign country, Iraq was entitled to do things its own way. That said, it should be noted that the new Government had committed themselves to a transparent judicial process, which was clearly something to be welcomed. Asked if we would accede to the Iraqi Government's intention to impose the death penalty on Saddam were they to take such a decision, the PMOS said that as he had told journalists yesterday, it was no secret that we were opposed to the death penalty and we had conveyed that view to the Iraqi Government, as you would expect. Ultimately, however, Iraq now had its own judicial process and it was important for people to recognise that that was the case.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

Niger/Uranium

Questioned about reports, citing European intelligence officials, suggesting that several countries, including Iraq, had been trying to acquire uranium from Niger, the PMOS said that this story was three days old. In any event, since it concerned intelligence matters, it was better to wait for the conclusions of the Butler Report before commenting. Asked if he was indicating that the Niger issue was expected to feature in the Report, the PMOS said that that was entirely a matter for the Butler Inquiry.

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

Forces Overstretch

Asked for a reaction to a report from the Defence Select Committee today suggesting that we could be putting ourselves in danger if our armed forces were overstretched, the PMOS said that as he had told journalists this morning, the MoD would obviously take into account the Committee's conclusions and publish a formal reply in due course. In the meantime, the MoD was clear that it had the resources to meet all of our commitments.

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

Public Services

Asked if the Prime Minister had been surprised to hear the Education Secretary referring to 'differences of emphasis' in Cabinet regarding how to approach public service reform, the PMOS said that the Cabinet recognised the progress which had been made in education and other public services and was determined, collectively, to build on it. Asked if it was correct to say that differences of opinion on the role of LEAs were between the Deputy Prime Minister and the Education Secretary, the PMOS said that he had no intention of getting drawn into a discussion about this matter. The important point was that Cabinet was agreed on the principle of investment and reform.

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

Afghanistan

Asked if there were any plans to send more British troops to Afghanistan in the near future, the PMOS said that as had been announced on Monday, we would be sending our mobile headquarters in 2006 as part of our long-term commitment to the country. He was not aware of any other commitments in the shorter term, other than those that were already there. That said, we were keeping the situation under constant review. Asked if the NATO Response Force might be sent, the PMOS said that as the Prime Minister had made clear on Monday, he believed that such a force was needed. However, a NATO reconnaissance team would be sent in to report on whether it was necessary for it to be deployed. Asked if he would agree that the Prime Minister and President Karzai were privately frustrated that the NATO Response Force had not actually been deployed in the light of the forthcoming elections in Afghanistan, the PMOS said President Karzai believed that NATO had listened carefully to what he had said and would respond accordingly - as, indeed, the NATO conclusions had shown.

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

Iran

Asked for a reaction to Iran's denial that they had forcibly escorted the eight British servicemen into Iranian waters, the PMOS said that as he understood it, the only way we would be able to find out precisely what had happened was for Iran to return our boats and navigation equipment. Asked when that might happen, the PMOS said that although the Iranian Foreign Minister had promised to give the boats back, we had received no indication of when that might be at this stage. Asked to explain how navigation equipment would help discover whether the servicemen had been forced into Iranian waters or whether they had entered by accident, the PMOS said that he wasn't an expert on boats or their navigation equipment and he therefore thought it would be best to refer journalists to the MoD for further information on this matter. Put to him that the Government should be taking a tougher line on the return of the boats, the PMOS said we that already had, hence the Defence Secretary's statement last night. Equally, we believed that the best way to resolve this issue was through proper dialogue, and that would continue. Asked if the Iranians had "stolen" our boats, the PMOS said he thought that it would be more helpful to continue our dialogue with the Iranian authorities in a sensible way rather than engage in pejorative language. We had underlined our belief that the boats should be returned. We had also protested at the way the eight men had been treated. Since their release, discussions with the Iranians had been ongoing. That would continue.

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

Iran

Asked the Prime Minister's reaction to the Defence Secretary's Written Statement last night in which he had said that the eight British servicemen who had been detained in Iraq had confirmed that they had been forcibly escorted into Iranian waters, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that he had nothing to add to what Mr Hoon had set out in his statement yesterday. The boats had been on an entirely routine operation. There had been no intention to enter Iranian waters. Our own enquiries were continuing and we were discussing this issue with the parties involved. The British Ambassador in Tehran was also raising this matter with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a daily basis.

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

Iraq

Asked if the new Iraqi Government had put in a request for additional troops, the PMOS said not at this stage. As we had made clear yesterday, and indeed many times during the past month or so, the Iraqi Government, through the National Security Council interfacing with US General David Patraeus, was developing a plan for Iraqi-isation. We would await the outcome of those discussions.

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

By-Elections

Asked if the Prime Minister supported a proposal to put in place by-election monitors on 15 July to tackle fraud, the PMOS said that he had nothing to add to what the Prime Minister had said about this matter yesterday, other than to say that this was an issue for the Electoral Commission.

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

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» Thursday, July 1, 2004

Iraq

Saddam Hussein

Niger/Uranium

Forces Overstretch

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