» Friday, September 15, 2006
Darfur
Asked whether, since the Prime Minister's recent statement regarding the situation in Darfur was strongly worded, had he spoken to the government in Sudan, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had been concerned about Sudan for quite some time. It was a recurring issue that he discussed with partners whenever he met them, and he had discussed it both with President Bush and Premier Wen of China in recent days. The Prime Minister did believe that Sudan did need to recognise the role of the UN and the African Union force, and the Prime Minister also believed that those who had not signed the peace agreement should do so. Therefore, there was a need to focus people's minds on this, because we were very concerned about the situation in Darfur, which was completely unacceptable and getting worse, and it shouldn't be. We all knew what needed to happen; we now needed to make sure that it did happen.
Briefing took place at 17:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Northern Ireland
Asked for further information regarding the Prime Minister's meeting with the Taoiseach this morning, the PMOS replied that they reviewed what was the calmest, most trouble-free summer since pre-1970. This was illustrated by the fact that on 12 July, it had been policed by normal police, rather than the army, in Belfast, so there had been no soldiers on the streets. We now looked forward to early October and the publication of the IMC report on paramilitary activity, but they had already indicated that they believed the IRA was living up to its commitments, but we should see what it said in detail later.
Briefing took place at 17:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
» 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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