» Thursday, September 14, 2006

Troops

Asked if Des Browne had told the Cabinet about the 1000 Polish troops, the PMOS said that obviously, we welcomed the decision and announcement by Poland. It was, of course, a matter for NATO and NATO commanders in discussions with Poland as to what role they would play. In terms of the other requirements, the PMOS said that Des Browne had underlined the British Government's view which was that if NATO said that it needed more troops, then it should get more troops. Des Browne had underlined that it was a vital mission, not only in terms of supporting a democratically elected government in Afghanistan, but also, for our home security here.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Middle East

Asked if the Prime Minister took the same view as that of a junior FCO Minister that the approach to Lebanon had been a mistake, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that people should look at what Kim Howells had actually said. Mr. Howells had said that we were right not to call for a ceasefire, and that the only way to stop the fighting was for a UN resolution. Mr. Howells also said that he did not agree that a dual-track (i.e. calling for a ceasefire) would work have worked. We were very worried that a temporary ceasefire would have allowed Hizbollah to re-arm, and Israel to revitalise and to continue their plans. That, therefore, was consistent with the Prime Minister's position. If people looked at the Amnesty report today on Hizbollah firing rockets into civilian areas in Israel, it underlined the rational why we believed that calls for a unilateral ceasefire were simply rhetoric.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Clare Short

Asked if we were aware of any action that the Chief Whip might take against Clare Short as a result of her remarks earlier today, the PMOS said that he had not been informed of any action, as he would leave that to the Whips' office.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Chancellor

Asked if the Prime Minister shared the Chancellor's view that "they would always be friends", the PMOS said, of course.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

International Aid

Asked if we would be withholding international aid indefinitely, the PMOS replied that what Hilary Benn had said was that what he wanted to see was improvements in the way the World Bank dealt with issues of corruption. Hilary Benn would set out further details tonight.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Demonstrations

Asked if the Prime Minister believed that relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq should be allowed to demonstrate outside the Labour Party conference, the PMOS replied that not only was it a party conference matter, but it was also a policing matter as well. People did have many opportunities in which to express their view, and the Prime Minister was perfectly relaxed about that fact that they did express their views.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Northern Ireland

Asked for further information regarding the Prime Minister's meetings with Bertie Ahern, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was meeting the Taoiseach tomorrow morning.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

ONS figures

Asked if the Prime Minister talking about employment figures was actually because unemployment figures had gone up, the PMOS replied that as he had said yesterday, the Prime Minister was commenting on the overall trend. If there were concerns, then we would clearly take that into account in the future.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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