Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Police Inquiry, Military Video, Corporate Manslaughter and Liaison Select Committee
Police Inquiry
Asked if there had been any contact with the police today, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that there had not been any contact.
Asked if there was any reaction to the CPS statement earlier today that there would be no charge against Des Smith, the PMOS replied that there was no reaction to that or to Sir Gus O’Donnell’s comments.
Asked what bits of Sir Gus O’Donnell was he not reacting to, the PMOS replied that Sir Gus O’Donnell had underlined our response to ITN in saying that there was no second email system in No10 and that we had fully cooperated. He was sure that this would be fully reflected in the Lobby’s coverage.
Asked why the Cabinet Secretary was willing to say more about the inquiry than the PMOS had been, the PMOS replied that in both his role as Head of the Civil Service and Head of the Cabinet Office, Sir Gus O’Donnell did have a locus in the matter.
Asked to clarify the Cabinet Secretary’s role in the matter, and could they assume that he had a role in ensuring that Downing Street gave full co-operation, the PMOS replied that this was more a matter for the Cabinet Office to speak on.
Asked if the Prime Minister instructed Sir Gus O’Donnell to ensure that there was full cooperation, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had made it clear to everybody in Downing Street and the wider Government that there should be full cooperation.
Asked that when he referred to "full cooperation" with the police investigation, was he saying there had institutionally been full cooperation, or was he saying that he believed Ruth Turner and Jonathan Powell had given full cooperation, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister’s view was that there should be full cooperation. We had no evidence to the contrary that there had been anything but that. Put to him that the police had already arrested one of the Prime Minister’s key aides for not cooperating, the PMOS replied by questioning who had said that the arrest had been as a result of not giving full cooperation. Put to him that it was a fact the police had arrested a key aide on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, this surely implied non-cooperation, did he therefore believe that Ruth Turner had given "full cooperation", the PMOS replied that we had never discussed individuals. Furthermore we had never got involved in the business of speculating in the press about individuals. The Prime Minister gave a clear view as to what should happen. As we had said before, there had been no complaints that there had been anything but full cooperation. Further questioned why he was saying there had been "full cooperation" when someone from No10 had been arrested for "not giving full cooperation", the PMOS replied that the premise the correspondent started from was an action of someone other than No10, therefore it was not for No10 to explain.
Asked how the police would let us know of any such complaint, the PMOS replied that making their views known did not seem to have been a problem in the past.
Military Video
Asked if the Prime Minister would be discussing the "blue on blue" incident during his meeting with General Petraeus, the PMOS replied that he trusted Lobby were aware of the latest statement from the US that they believed that they could now make this material available to the inquest. It would probably come up in the meeting in some form, but in this context.
Asked that given this change in tack were the US no longer treating the leaking as a criminal matter, the PMOS replied that this was a matter for the US, not for us. This was a genuinely difficult matter. First and foremost it was obviously difficult for the family of those killed, and we should pay respect to them. Secondly however, it was genuinely difficult in intelligence terms, for reasons that to explain would be to undermine the confidentiality that must surround such matters. Therefore we should treat this with due seriousness.
Asked whether it was the leaking that should be treated with due seriousness, or was he referring to the whole matter, the PMOS replied that he was referring to the whole matter. There were genuine issue at the heart of this, not taking away from the tragic circumstances that occurred.
Put to him that since this video was considered classified by our significant ally, did making it public against their will not constitute a criminal offence, the PMOS replied that he would not be getting into legal matters.
Asked if there would now be a leak inquiry, the PMOS replied that this was a matter for others rather than us as it was not our video.
Put to him that the way in which he answered the last question implied that the Americans leaked the video, the PMOS replied that he was not implying this in any way. What he was saying was that the issues of intelligence and confidentiality were first and foremost a matter for the US rather than us.
Corporate Manslaughter
Asked if the Prime Minister had a view on the Corporate Manslaughter Bill, the PMOS replied that as the Prime Minister said in the Liaison Committee hearing earlier today, this was a matter which the Home Secretary had said needed to be considered further.
Liaison Select Committee
Put to him that during the Prime Minister’s appearance this morning, he started to talk about the Chancellor when asked about his successor, and was this deliberate, the PMOS replied that without making a big deal out of this, people were eliding several points into one. People should go back to what the Prime Minister said at his press conference, which was that he would not say any more about this at this moment.
Asked for a reaction to the suggestion, first by Nigel Lawson, and now from the Conservative front bench, that the new job for Mr Challon was an abuse of patronage, the PMOS replied that this was entirely a party matter. Put to him that this was a Government appointment, the PMOS replied that these matters would therefore be dealt with by the department.
Asked for a comment about the idea that people undertaking community work following criminal prosecution should wear a uniform, the PMOS replied that these were matters that were being considered by the department and they would come forward with proposals in due course.
delicious
digg
facebook
