Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Doctorss letters, China Missle Test, Basra base attack, Big Brother, EU Constitution, GP’s Pay, Condoleezza Rice Meeting, Prince of Wales and Ruth Turner
Doctors’ letters
Asked about the Independent story today about doctors’ letters to the Prime Minister regarding children dying in Iraqi hospitals due to a lack of equipment, and lawyers had said that the UK was in breach of the Geneva Convention, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the best thing was for us to study the letter and to reply.
Put that it had been some weeks since the letter arrived at No10, and had it been read or studied since then, the PMOS said that we had a procedure for dealing with these sorts of letters, and we would follow that procedure.
China Missile Test
Asked what our reaction was to the Chinese Missile test, the PMOS replied that we had discussed this matter with the Chinese authorities earlier this week. We had concerns about the impact in space from the debris, and we had expressed that concern.
Asked who had expressed that concern, and was it a Minister or an official, the PMOS said that it was at official level, from the FCO.
Asked to confirm that we were not worried about the missile, but rather, the debris, the PMOS replied that there were concerns that there was debris in outer space caused by the break-up of the satellite that was hit. We had raised the issue with the Chinese authorities on Wednesday.
Asked if there were concerns that the Chinese were testing missiles that could be used in war, the PMOS replied that people had to be aware of the overall international law. We did not believe that this contravened international law. What we were concerned about was, however, was the lack of consultation and we believed that this development of technology and the manner in which this test was conducted was inconsistent with the spirit of China’s statement to the UN and other bodies on the military use of space.
Asked again about what concerns had been expressed and was it just about the debris, or was it also about the commission of arms or the use of weapons in outer space, the PMOS replied that we had expressed concern about the consultation on this. He added that the UK had never launched a missile at a satellite, and therefore, we were concerned by this.
Asked if there was any concern that any of the debris could fall to Earth, the PMOS replied that he was not a big enough expert on satellites, but that was not the cause of our concern.
Basra base attack
Asked for a reaction to the recent attack on the Basra Palace base, the PMOS replied that it was better that the reaction came from the ground in Basra.
Big Brother
Put that the Chancellor in India had urged people to "vote for tolerance" by voting out Jade Goody, and was that an opinion shared by No10, the PMOS replied that he had said all he had to say on the subject of Big Brother this week. If people remembered yesterday, the PMOS had said that we took the issue of any perception of racism very seriously, which was why we wanted the message to go out loud and clear. There was also, however, a process for complaint, and given that process and OFCOM’s role in that, it was wrong for the Prime Minister to become more involved in that. It was for other people to express their views, and that was perfectly proper, but for the Prime Minister, it was right that we left it to OFCOM.
EU Constitution
Asked if the EU Constitution could be changed without a referendum from the UK, the PMOS replied that as he had said earlier in the week, there was a situation where a joint Presidency was beginning, and no doubt, there would be proposals at some stage. However, we were at the beginning of a Presidency, and we were not at the point where proposals were going forward. The best thing to do, therefore, was to take this step by step. The PMOS said that we needed to deal with the facts as and when they happened.
GPs’ Pay
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with Patricia Hewitt who said that with hindsight, it might have been better to cap the amount of money that GPs could get out of their contract, the PMOS replied that the DoH had not summarised her words in the same way as the BBC had. The important thing was that in the past, we had said that neither ourselves, nor the BMA, had anticipated that GPs would take up this ball in quite the way that they had. GPs were delivering better services to their patients, and were doing so on a daily basis. The contract had been signed this year, and that had meant that there was better services, and GPs were putting more back into those services.
Asked if No10 was worried it had been a bit "naïve" about the GPs’ contracts, the PMOS said that what was important was that when something was introduced as innovative, first of all, people should remember why it was done in the first place. There was a problem about the tension of GPs, and there was also a problem about attracting sufficient people of sufficient calibre to the GP service. That was no longer the case.
Put that that was because they all had so much money that they were all retiring, the PMOS said that that was not the case. There was now a system which suited both modern medicine as well as modern ways of life. In the past, we did not have that. It was important to constantly monitor and adapt the system, and we had done that this year.
Condoleezza Rice Meeting
Asked if the Prime Minister had received any impression from his meeting with Dr. Rice last night that she was right to believe there was now a desire for progress from both Israel and Palestine, the PMOS said that from our own experience when we visited the region before Christmas that we did believe that there was a willingness to move forward in what were admittedly difficult circumstances. Therefore, what we would continue to try to do would be to identify ways in which we could help that process. It was a process that needed the engagement, not just from ourselves and the US, but also from the international community as a whole.
Asked if the Prime Minister was optimistic or pessimistic after hearing Dr. Rice’s briefing of her visit, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister believed that there was a chance for making progress, and there was engagement on the part of the US in helping to make progress, and that there was a willingness to do so on the ground. What we had to do was to continue to make progress. The PMOS drew people’s attention to the fact that today, Israel had announced that it was transferring money to the PA. If people remembered, that meeting between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert would prove the things that the Prime Minister had identified as necessary to move things forward whenever we were in the region before Christmas. The PMOS said that with all peace processes, he had always resisted the pessimism/optimism question. The reality was that peace processes went up and down. The questions were, however: had there the potential for moving forward, and had there been positive developments in the last few weeks? Answer: yes. Did we need to keep moving forward? Answer: yes
Prince of Wales
Put that David Miliband had criticised the Prince of Wales for flying to New York, suggesting that the carbon emissions would be too excessive and maybe the Prince should think about using a video link, and was that something that No10 would agree with as a principle, the PMOS replied that it was something that should be dealt with by both the Prince of Wales’ office and David Miliband’s office.
Asked by the Guardian what would Ghandi have done, the PMOS said that it was a good question, but he could not even begin to tell him!
Ruth Turner - Addition as at 1430 on Friday 19 January 2007
In response to telephone inquiries posed by journalists regarding the arrest of the Prime Minister’s Director of Government relations, the PMS issued the following statement from the Prime Minister:
"Ruth Turner is a person of the highest integrity for whom I have great regard and I continue to have complete confidence in her".
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