Downing Street Says » John Hutton-Pensions

Asked if John Hutton was "frozen out" of this morning’s meetings and kept in an anti-room in Downing Street after being told he was not required, as was reported in the Evening Standard tonight, and did he assert that the Turner Report be delivered in full to give the Prime Minister victory, the PMOS said that he was not going to give a running commentary on the discussions on pensions. The time to talk about that was when the final decisions were announced. As people knew, we did give a welcome to the Turner Report and that remained the case. Regarding John Hutton, the PMOS said that the analysis contained in the Evening Standard was wrong. Mr. Hutton was an integral part of the discussions on pensions, and was an integral part of the decision-making process. As was his right as the DWP Secretary of State, he had done a lot of very good work in shaping our response to the Turner Report.

Asked again if Mr. Hutton was kept in an anti-room in Downing Street, and told that he did not need to attend, the PMOS said that as people knew, he did not give a running commentary on discussions between the Prime Minister and Cabinet colleagues. The important point was that John Hutton had been not only in the loop, but part of the decision-making process at all stages of shaping our response to the Turner Report, and that remained the case. The implicit message in the Evening Standard report was completely wrong.

Asked if it was the case that the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor was only about pensions, the PMOS replied that it was very nice of the journalist to ask the same question a different way round, but the same response still applied, as the PMOS did not give a running commentary on meetings the Prime Minister had with Cabinet colleagues, either singular, or plural.

Put that on Monday, the Prime Minister had said that John Prescott would be heavily involved in the process of putting forward the pensions proposals, and the Conservatives had said today that the pensions crisis was in the hands of John Prescott, and what was Mr. Prescott’s role, and was he involved in talks today, the PMOS thanked the journalist for the third time to comment on the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. The same response still stood. In terms of the overall response to the Turner report, it was a response from the Government as a whole, and therefore involved several departments, and one that people would expect to be shaped by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister working with colleagues. That would be the case.

Asked about Mr. Prescott’s committees, the PMOS said that we would announce them at the right time. The Prime Minister was correct in saying the Mr. Prescott was playing an important role in this, as people would expect.

Put that the Prime Minister had said on Monday that the Government had not yet made up its mind on pensions as a whole, and was it closer to doing so, the PMOS said again that he would not give a running commentary. We would announce our position when we would announce it.

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» Thursday, May 11, 2006

John Hutton-Pensions

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