Downing Street Says

Asked if it was possible to withdraw names from the peers list if it had not yet been published, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that as he had said from the beginning, he was not going to give a running commentary on how we prepared the peers list. That had been the tradition and convention, and the longer that this had gone on, the more he saw the wisdom that lay in that convention. Therefore, the PMOS said he would continue with his stated objective of not saying anything until a list was actually published.

Asked what were the procedures and rules, and could the Prime Minister withdraw a name, the PMOS said that there were names considered by the Appointments Commission.

Put that perhaps there were no rules, and it had "never been ironed out", the PMOS suggested the journalist went back and looked at when the Appointments Commission was set up, and that would set out the rules. The PMOS said again that he was not going to get involved in a commentary on the process.

Asked if anyone in No10 had called David Garrard prior to his announcement that he was pulling out of the peerages nominations, the PMOS said he was not aware of any contact. The PMOS said he thought he had heard that the BBC were running a conspiracy theory on it; it struck the PMOS as far-fetched.

Asked about the conspiracy theory, the PMOS replied that he thought it was about timings being deliberately for today; given the reaction of people from Downing Street, it seemed pretty far-fetched, but it filled internet space!

Put that this was possibly one of "the greatest humiliations" before the Prime Minister, the PMOS said he thought the questions probably got the prize as being one of the greatest collection of possible smears in the shortest space of time as possible.

The journalist said he was glad he had provoked that reaction from the PMOS, but it was embarrassing for the Prime Minister regarding the nominations, the PMOS replied that all it did was underline that these things were best dealt with in private, which is what the PMOS had been saying all along.

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» Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Peerages

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