» Monday, July 5, 2004
Prime Minister
Asked if the Prime Minister had any thoughts about the fact that so many of his senior colleagues kept talking about his future, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said he thought that that was more a question for them than for him. Asked if the Prime Minister had 'definitely decided' to lead his party into the next election, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had answered this question several times. His words spoke for themselves.
Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Iraq
Asked if the Prime Minister was relaxed about the possibility of former insurgents being released in Iraq, the PMOS said that it was up to the new Iraqi Government to make judgements in terms of what it believed would best help the security and political situation. The Prime Minister admired the way in which Prime Minister Alawi and his interim Government had approached their first few days in office.
Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)
Butler Report
Asked if Downing Street had received a draft copy of the Butler Report and when it would be published, the PMOS said that the Inquiry team had indicated that they were aiming to present their findings on 14 July. It was therefore premature to start talking about handling arrangements at this stage.
Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (44)
CSR
Asked if the Prime Minister was focussing his attention this week on finalising the details of the spending review, particularly in terms of issues relating to the Home Office and MoD, the PMOS said that he had no intention of getting drawn into a speculative discussion about the content of the CSR. Suffice to say that the CSR was only one of several issues on which the Prime Minister was focussing his attention this week.
Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Euro 2004
Asked if the Prime Minister had sent a message of congratulations to Greece for winning the Euro 2004 final against Portugal last night, the PMOS said no. However, he obviously wished them well in their success.
Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Jack McConnell
Asked if the Scottish First Minister, Jack McConnell, would be meeting with the Prime Minister in Downing Street today, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said yes. Asked why, the PMOS said that it was a routine meeting. The Prime Minister met with the First Ministers of the devolved Assemblies from time to time.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Smacking
Questioned about the Government's policy on smacking, the PMOS said that the Government wanted to see an outcome which would maintain the balance between a parent's right to discipline their child and the protection of that child. We did not want to criminalise parents, which was why we had always been opposed to an outright ban on smacking. Nevertheless, we would be interested to see any other proposals to deal with this issue that were put forward. We were willing to have a free vote on Lord Lester's amendment. We would wait and see what the outcome of that might be. Asked why the Government was allowing a free vote if it had thought through its position carefully, the PMOS pointed out that there was a difference between an outright ban on smacking and Lord Lester's proposal which, as we understood it, would not criminalise parents for smacking their children, but would restrict the use of defence of reasonable chastisement in court.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)
Smoking
Asked the Prime Minister's reaction to the BMA's call for a ban on smoking in public places, the PMOS said that a consultation process on this issue was currently underway, as well as an ongoing debate which we welcomed. However, it was important to await the conclusions of the consultation exercise before making any judgements.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (19)
Public Sector Sick Leave
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about the reported number of public sector workers 'throwing sickies', the PMOS said that this was a matter for departments to investigate and an issue for managers to manage.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Peter Mandelson
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with Peter Mandelson's reported remark that the Chancellor was his natural successor, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had always praised the Chancellor. His position on this issue had not changed.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
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.
Search
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jun | Aug » | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
Supported by
Recent Briefings
- Briefings are now secret.
- Syrian refugee resettlement
- Syria
- Scotland
- Independence referendum
- Trade Union Bill (No.2)
- Syria
- Northern Ireland
- Syria
- Syria
Archives
- December 2015
- September 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 1970
- November 1900
- October 1900
- August 1900
- February 1900
- January 1900
- June 111
- May 111
- April 111
- March 111
- February 111
- January 111
- 111
- November 110
- October 110
- September 110
- August 110
- July 110
- June 110
- May 110
- April 110
- March 110
- February 110
- January 110
- 110
- November 109
- October 109
- September 109
- August 109
- June 109
- May 109
- 0
Links
Syndicate (RSS/XML)
Credits
Enquiries
Contact Sam Smith.