Downing Street Says » 2006 » April

» Thursday, April 20, 2006

Cabinet – The Queen’s Birthday present

Asked whether the whole of the Cabinet had contributed to the "whip round" for the Queen's birthday present, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said yes. Asked if they had all paid the full amount, the PMOS said yes. Asked if that was £30, the PMOS said that he had been brought up to believe that it was not good manners to leave the price tag attached to gifts. As he had said this morning we had consulted the Palace who had told us that the Queen wished her birthday to be marked in a relatively low key way. We respected the Queen's wishes and the present was entirely appropriate.

Asked if the Queen would be able to return the present if it didn't fit, the PMOS said that we had gone to considerable efforts to make sure that it was suitable. Asked if it had been purchased on Ebay, the PMOS said that answer was unequivocally no. Asked how the Cabinet knew what she wanted, the PMOS said that there were ways of finding out what people would like. Asked who would give her the gift, the PMOS said that there were appropriate channels for such things. Asked if there was a reason why he was being so coy about the nature of the gift, the PMOS said that generally it was considered bad form to talk about gifts in advance of the gift being given.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

The Queen’s Birthday present

Asked if Cabinet were "having a whip round" for The Queen's birthday present, and were they contributing individually, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said that the Cabinet had contributed, and they would contribute as a whole to the present. The PMOS said he was not going to detail what the present was today, as it was a bit rude to spoil the surprise in advance.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Olympic Accusations

Asked for a response to comments from a member of the Paris Olympic bid team, suggesting that the Prime Minister had somehow bribed Olympic selection committee members, the PMOS said that he would rather not respond to wild and inaccurate claims from France, no matter what their source. He would simply point out that a lot of bloody hard work had taken place as part of London's successful Olympic bid, by a lot of people in the UK. That included the team headed by Seb Coe, the team in government headed by Tessa Jowell, and by the Prime Minister, who carved out enough time from his diary to go to Singapore in time to meet sufficient delegates and put the case to them. The success of our bid should be seen in that light and not through wild and inaccurate accusations made months after the event.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Euro Fighter Jets

Asked for further information about the Times report today that we had supplied Euro Fighter Jets to Saudi Arabia, the PMOS said that he did not give a running commentary on commercial matters.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (6)

Prime Minister’s car

Asked why the Prime Minister was being driven through London in a 4x4 car at the same time as the Chancellor and Leader of the Opposition were fighting for ground on the issue of global warming, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister's transport was governed by security advice which we had to take very seriously. Put to him that the Prime Minister seemed to be the only Minister being driven in a 4x4, the PMOS said that it was a security matter and he couldn't comment any further.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

Northern Ireland

Asked for further information about the progress of the Northern Ireland Bill, the PMOS said that it was a relatively short and straightforward operation, but there would be room for debate.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Eurofigher

Asked if had any more information on the possible sale of Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the PMOS said that as he understood it there were commercial negotiations currently ongoing, so he could not comment.

Briefing took place at 6:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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