Downing Street Says » Iraq Casualties

Asked what the Prime Minister had to say to the families of those who had lost loved ones in Iraq; whether the Prime Minister would attend Gordon Pritchard’s funeral; and how would he respond to claims that given he had had photo opportunities with troops in the Middle East now was the time to meet the families such as Rose Gentle who claimed she had been turned down two days ago, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that he could not comment on the particular request of Rose Gentle.

In terms of contact with families we dealt with that privately because we believed that was proper and we would continue not to deal with it in a public way. In terms of the visit to the troops in Basra in December the PMOS disputed the characterisation of it as a photo call. It had allowed the Prime Minister to meet the commanders on the ground, it had allowed him to have a significant meeting with the US Ambassador and our own representatives to Iraq and finally to hear first hand from the troops themselves. What the troops had talked about was their growing confidence in the Iraqi troops that they were working with. The Prime Minister found their insights very useful.

Asked if the Prime Minister remembered meeting Gordon Pritchard, the PMOS said he would not get into talking about his meetings with individuals, as he did not think that was appropriate.

Put to him that people had suggested in the past that there was a security issue when the Prime Minister attended funerals, the PMOS said the Prime Minister choose to have contact with families of the bereaved, whether in these or other circumstances, in private because he believed that was more appropriate when dealing with bereavement. That would continue to be his approach.

Asked whether the Prime Minister had attended the funeral of any other soldier, the PMOS said he was not aware that he had, but as he had just said he choose to make contact in private. Asked if the Prime Minister had had any contact, all be it in private, with the Pritchard family, the PMOS said he was not aware of any contact and as they knew this had only happened yesterday.

Asked to confirm that he was saying that the Prime Minister had had contact with relatives or families and not spoken about it publicly, the PMOS said there were a variety of means of contact, such as letters and memorial services. What we did not do, however, was brief on those because we did not believe it to be appropriate.

Asked whether the Prime Minister felt under any pressure to provide evidence of meetings with relatives or injured soldiers, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister did not grandstand about such meetings. They were private occasions and should remain so. Asked whether he was saying the Prime Minister had met bereaved relatives, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had met injured soldiers and bereaved, but we would not provide details.

2 Comments »

With regard to our permanatly damaged servicemen and women I would like to post the following comment.

I would like the following questions answered. What will Tony Blair’s pension be when he leaves office?
What will his future support be and what will it cost?
What will his future earning prospects be?

What is he and his government offering to individuals who went to war on his behalf and now can no longer support themselves or their families.

What are their long term prospects?

Cut through the retoric and give honest answers.
Comment by Michael H Nixon — 16 Mar 2007 on 12:33 pm | Link
With regard to our permanatly damaged servicemen and women I would like to post the following comment.

I would like the following questions answered. What will Tony Blair’s pension be when he leaves office?
What will his future support be and what will it cost?
What will his future earning prospects be?

What is he and his government offering to individuals who went to war on his behalf and now can no longer support themselves or their families.

What are their long term prospects?

Cut through the retoric and give honest answers.
Comment by Michael H Nixon — 16 Mar 2007 on 12:34 pm | Link

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» Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Iraq Casualties

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