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» Monday, March 12, 2007

Trident

Asked if a new Deputy Leader to the House of Commons had been appointed, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that a new appointment had not been made. Asked if the Prime Minister had sent a letter in reply to Nigel Griffiths, the Prime Minister replied that he was sure that at some stage we would send a letter. Asked if the Prime Minister intended to appoint a replacement at some stage, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister would take his time.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Hans Blix

Asked to comment on Hans Blix's remarks, the PMOS replied that as he had said this morning there was an international consensus at the time, which included Hans Blix, that Saddam Hussain did indeed have the weapons. Four inquiries had concluded that the Government acted in good faith.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Climate Change Bill

Asked for details on tomorrow's Climate Change Bill, the PMOS replied that the Bill would be launched by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, and David Miliband, and would set out a comprehensive approach to the environment. This meant setting realistic and achievable targets for emissions across the board, not just in terms of one measure, but a series of measures. These measures would, as the Prime Minister had just said, be brought in a way that would not harm our economy at the expense of other economies, or our public at the expense of other publics. The balance needed to be struck.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Government changes

Asked if Jim Devine and Stephen Pound were still members of the Government, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that he had no changes to announce.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Trident

Asked to confirm that the Prime Minister would not be taking part in the debate on Trident in the House of Commons on Wednesday, the PMOS said that he would not be. Traditionally, defence debates were taken by a mixture of the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Hans Blix

Asked if there was a response to Hans Blix's recent comments regarding the war in Iraq being illegal and that the grounds for going to war had been spun, the PMOS replied that firstly, Mr. Blix at the time said that he also believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD). That was the generally accepted international consensus as reflected in the various announcements by the UN at the time. Secondly, there had been four separate inquiries, all of which came to the conclusion that the Government acted in good faith.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Lords Reform

Asked if there was a message from the Government to the House of Lords as they deliberated this week, the PMOS said that it was a free vote, therefore, it was a matter for the Lords to come to their collective decision.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Veterans/Prime Minister visit

Asked what the Prime Minister's view was about the state veterans found themselves in, the PMOS replied that if people looked at what the MOD had been saying and what the Surgeon General had said, they had been setting out not only their view of why it was more appropriate to treat veterans in civilian hospitals, as that was where there was a critical mass of expertise to treat such cases, but also, in terms of their overall care that was given. Of course, if people did have any complaints, they should make them known. The PMOS said that whilst he could not go into specific cases because of patient confidentiality, he said that the MOD had urgently investigated specific reports and they would give any response to families of those concerned.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

ClimateChange/GreenTax

Asked why the Chancellor was attending the Climate Change Bill launch, and what was his focus, the PMOS replied that obviously, there were certain spending implications in climate change. This was an overall Government approach, as the Prime Minister would set out very clearly in the Commons this afternoon. The Government's approach was that there had to be a comprehensive approach, and that meant agreeing as we did on Friday with out European partners, targets for reducing emissions and for renewables. It also meant an across-the-board approach in this country, which focused particularly on how we made homes more energy efficient, how we reduced industry emissions, and also, how aviation emissions would be part of an EU emissions trading scheme as of 2011/2012.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (4)

Police inquiry

No.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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» Monday, March 12, 2007

Trident

Hans Blix

Climate Change Bill

Government changes

Trident

Hans Blix

Lords Reform

Veterans/Prime Minister visit

ClimateChange/GreenTax

Police inquiry

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