Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Police inquiry, Nuclear Energy, Romania and Bulgaria, Youth Justice System and Iraq
Police inquiry
Asked if anyone in Downing Street had been questioned by police about cash for peerages, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that nothing had changed.
Asked if we had a reaction to the fact that Michael Howard had been interviewed, the PMOS said it was a good try, but no.
Asked by the Evening Standard if Jonathan Powell had been questioned, the PMOS said that all along, he had said that he would only talk about the Prime Minister, and nobody else. However, people should not get too excited.
Asked again if nobody in Downing Street had been questioned, the PMOS replied that nothing had changed, and he had set right from the start, very clear rules about what he would and would not talk about. Therefore, what the PMOS said that he would not talk about was anybody else in Downing Street, apart from the Prime Minister. However, he had said very carefully to the Evening Standard that they should not get too excited.
Asked why the PMOS would only talk about the Prime Minister, and not others in No10, the PMOS said that he did not talk about civil servants or Special Advisors.
Asked if people should therefore go to the Cabinet Office for information, the PMOS replied that if people wanted to waste their time, then they could, but the Cabinet Office would adopt the same approach. The PMOS said that no other department would talk about civil servants or Special Advisors either, but it was a police investigation.
Asked what the Prime Minister’s frame of mind was about the investigation, the PMOS said that it was very straightforward; it was a police investigation, and it was up to police how they investigated it.
Asked if there had been any calls from the police to make an appointment, the PMOS said again that nothing had changed.
Asked if there had been any request from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for the Prime Minister to give evidence, the PMOS said that he was not aware of anything, but it would be matter for the PAC to talk about.
Nuclear Energy
Asked if the statement on nuclear energy would include a decision, the PMOS said that it would, but he would wait for the statement, rather than previewing it.
Romania and Bulgaria
Asked why the statement on Romania and Bulgaria was being released as a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) by a junior Minister, rather than a Cabinet Minister in the Commons, and was this a change in policy, the PMOS said that it was thought to be the most appropriate way in which to do it. The Government still recognised the benefits of migration and the EU enlargement, particularly in an economy where there were still 600,000 vacancies. We still believed that the opening up to the A8 had worked, and both the CBI and the TUC had come to the same conclusion. However, as we had already indicated, given that the A2 accession was coming hard on the heels of the A8, we believe that this was a process that had to be managed in a transitional way. That was what Liam Byrne would be announcing, and people would find that others in Europe would adopt a similar approach.
Asked if the Prime Minister was worried that any change to that would affect irreparably relations between us and Bulgaria and Romania, the PMOS replied that we had explained to the two countries what our position was, and we had always supported their applications as part of enlargement. The PMOS said that people recognised that we needed time to absorb the lessons of the A8, and to look at the implications of these two countries. Liam Byrne’s statement would set out the position very clearly.
Asked if this was an acknowledgement that the Government had underestimated the affects of accession, the PMOS said that it was an acknowledgement that this came fairly hard on the heels of the A8 accession. TUC studies found no evidence that workers from the A8 had taken British jobs or undercut wages, and the CBI had welcomed their skills. However, the lessons had to be absorbed from the A8 accession before opening up to the A2.
Asked if it was true that the package was only approved this morning, the PMOS replied that there was a meeting and it was approved then. The PMOS said that he thought that the Daily Telegraph was lost in admiration at the effectiveness, efficiency and the speed of Government.
The Daily Telegraph journalist said that he was not. Asked if the Government was sure that the package would not drive workers into the blackmarket, the PMOS replied that if people looked at the package as announced in the WMS, there were specific measures in there which were designed to meet that point.
Put that there appeared to have been a row between John Reid and Margaret Beckett over the issue, and did the Prime Minister take part in their discussion, the PMOS said that he did not recognise the description.
Asked if this had gone to Cabinet to be discussed, the PMOS said that it was a Cabinet sub-Committee, as was normal.
Asked who was on the sub-Committee, the PMOS replied that he did not go into detail about Cabinet sub-Committees, and he had to let the journalist do some work!
Asked who chaired the sub-Committees, the PMOS said again that he had to let the press do some work.
Asked why the restriction applied to the next wave of EU and not the A8, the PMOS replied that it was not just a question of numbers, it was also about getting skills through specific industries, etc. The WMS would set out the position.
Asked if there would be any change to the way the A8, the PMOS said that there would not be any change.
Youth Justice System
Put that the Youth Justice System was now in "crisis", and was the Prime Minister still confident in John Reid, the PMOS said that he thought it was almost a record in terms of asking that question, but yes, the Prime Minister did still have confidence in John Reid. In terms of Youth Justice, the PMOS said that it needed to be put in perspective. Custody was a last resort for under 18s, and of the 190,000 young people dealt with by the police in court each year, only 4% received a custodial sentence.
Iraq
Put that if the Government strategy on Iraq was correct, why did the majority of British people think that we should withdraw by the end of the year, the PMOS replied that he was not going to act as a commentator on opinion polls. What we recognised was that if the news was dominated each night by pictures of suicide bombers etc, then it would have an impact on public opinion. Equally, when a goal was being pursued of a democracy in Iraq, people had to recognise that when it was being attacked by terrorism, it was going to call for patience. What people needed to think through was what the consequences of a premature departure would be. The consequences would be that the first democratically elected Government of Iraq would collapse and that the terrorists would win. That was not in the interests of the people of Iraq who turned out in such numbers to vote for that Government, nor was it in the interests of the international community, nor this country.
The PMOS said that people had to think through the logic of what it was that they were calling for. We fully understood that people did respond to the reality and the perception of the reality of the number of attacks there were in Iraq, and as the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq had said, we did have to address the issues. Mr. Salih had also said, however, that progress was being made.
Asked if we were suggesting that people were getting the wrong impression of what was happening from media coverage, the PMOS said that of course, the number of attacks was of concern, and we recognised that. The numbers of attacks did result in far too many deaths. Firstly, we had to think through who carried out those attacks, and secondly, we had to recognise that that was not the picture in the whole of Iraq. There was considerable progress being made throughout Iraq, but that did not get the same attention as the attacks. What we were not saying was that people should not report suicide bombers or attacks etc. Equally, however, what we should have was an overall sense of perspective about life in Iraq as a whole and what we were trying to achieve, as well as thinking through the implications of what people were calling for.
Asked if there had been an assessment of how long the current Iraqi Government would last if the troops pulled out, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any assessment.
Asked if we had discussed a presentation with broadcasters or editors, the PMOS replied that as people knew, the Government believed in editorial independence.
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