Downing Street Says » 2008 » April

» Thursday, April 3, 2008

NATO

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) began by giving the assembled press a rundown of what had been happening at the NATO Summit. The main topic being discussed both last night over dinner and this morning, had been the membership applications from Georgia and the Ukraine. The Prime Minister had made clear throughout the week that […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Income Tax

Asked whether the Prime Minister was concerned about the depth of feeling amongst Labour MPs on the decision to cut the 10p rate of income tax, the PMS said that the Prime Minister’s position on the 10p rate of income tax was as it always had been. In the Budget last year there was a […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

Afghanistan

Asked whether the Government had ruled out sending more troops to Afghanistan, the PMS said that the Government kept that under review. We were anticipating confirmation from the French on their troop deployment. Asked whether any other countries would come forward with resources and where were we on the idea of a helicopter trust fund, […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Cannabis

Asked if the Prime Minister was determined to go ahead with bringing in tougher sentences for cannabis if the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended that it stayed as a Class C drug, the PMS said that we did not expect to receive the report from the advisory committee on the classification […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Zimbabwe

Asked what the Prime Minister would be discussing with Heads of Government at the Progessive Governance Summit and would that include possible rescue packages for Zimbabwe, the PMS said that the situation in Zimbabwe was uncertain at the moment. We would have to see how things panned out in the next couple of days. The […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Alcohol Duty

Asked whether the Prime Minister had any comment on Gerry Sutcliffe’s criticisms of the Budget and the fact that plans for an escalation on alcohol duty was going to damage pubs, the PMS said that he had not seen the comments from Gerry Sutcliffe and neither had the Prime Minister. Without knowing their full context, […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Mortages

Asked whether the Prime Minister had any reaction to mortgage lenders not offering their services to customers, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had said in his press conference earlier that week that the tough and difficult action taken on public sector pay during the course of last year had helped keep inflationary pressure […]

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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