Downing Street Says » 2004 » July

» Monday, July 5, 2004

EU Commissioner

Asked if a decision had been made on Britain's new EU Commissioner, the PMOS said no. As we had been underlining consistently, a decision did not have to be made until the end of July.

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

Iraq/Saudi Arabia

Asked for a reaction to claims made by Britons held in Saudi Arabia that the Government had dragged its feet and used them as political pawns in the run up to the war in Iraq, the PMOS said that he was unable to brief on the discussions which had been had at the time because they were confidential. Nevertheless, he could say that he did not recognise the version of events that had been presented. Asked if he was implying that the claims were untrue, the PMOS said that the discussions about the detainees had been held in their own right. In the end, it was the outcome which was important.

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

Butler Report

Asked how the Government was intending to respond to the Butler Report, the PMOS said that the Inquiry team was aiming to present its findings on 14 July. At this point, it was premature to engage in a processological discussion about how the Report would be published. Asked if the Government had yet to receive the Report, the PMOS said he had no intention of getting drawn into a discussion about processology. We were still some days away from publication. If we had anything further to say, we would say it. Asked if the Opposition parties would be given the opportunity to see the Report in advance, despite the fact that they had boycotted the Inquiry, the PMOS said that these issues would be discussed through the normal channels, as you would expect. He was not going to pre-empt what the outcome might be.

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

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» Monday, July 5, 2004

EU Commissioner

Iraq/Saudi Arabia

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