Downing Street Says » 2009 » December

» Thursday, December 10, 2009

MPs’ Expenses

Asked if the Prime Minister had full confidence in Quentin Davies, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said yes. In terms of expenses the Prime Minister had made his feelings clear in his interview earlier today; we needed to move away from the old system of the past. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was now […]

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

EU Letter/Brussels

Put that the Prime Minister referred to a financial services transaction tax in his letter to the EU this afternoon and if that was another name for a Tobin tax, the PMS said that it was the transaction tax that was mentioned at the G20 and it was one of a number of options the […]

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Cabinet Committee Minutes on Devolution

Put that Jack Straw’s veto on the release of Cabinet Committee minutes on devolution was an act of desperation to cover political embarrassment, the PMS said that this was a matter of principle and had been given due consideration by the Justice Secretary. original source.

Briefing took place at 15:45 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Phonecall with Premier Wen

Asked about the Prime Minister’s phone call with Premier Wen and what was said about human rights, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that they spoke about the specific case of Akmal Shaikh, who was currently on death row for drugs trafficking. The Prime Minister asked Premier Wen to ensure that mental health considerations were […]

Briefing took place at 10:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Pre-Budget Report

Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) could undermine his commitment to protecting frontline services such as the NHS, the PMS said that we were focused on continuing to invest in the NHS; the Pre- Budget Report identified 10 billion of efficiency savings that would meet new […]

Briefing took place at 10:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Brussels

Asked if we expected France to announce a similar tax to the one we had introduced yesterday, the PMS said that it was not for us to comment on what other countries may or may not do. Asked about the agenda for the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Sarkozy, the PMS said that they would […]

Briefing took place at 10:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

MPs’ Expenses

Put that there had been a u-turn on Government policy regarding MPs’ expenses, the PMS said that was not the case; we had always said that we would bring forward legislation, if necessary, and the Written Ministerial Statement laid by Harriet Harman and Jack Straw this morning made that clear. We had found the opportunity […]

Briefing took place at 10:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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