Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: EU Council, Police Inquiry, Stock Markets, Social Exclusion, Northern Ireland and School Discipline
EU Council
The PMOS said the important thing about this summit was that it was focussing on energy and climate change. It is very much a stepping stone from where we were at Gleneagles to where we want to be by the end of the G8 in Germany this June. We want the Council to set stretching targets fort tackling greenhouse gas emissions. To embrace climate friendly technologies, to commit to maximise efficient use of existing energy supply and to continue to open up the energy markets to competition. It is an important summit and we congratulate the lead that has been given by Germany as President of the EU.
Asked if the subsequent event in Berlin would impact on the Summit, how extensive would that Summit be, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the event in Berlin was primarily there to celebrate the 50th anniversary and it would be primarily a ceremonial event rather than substantial. Suggestions that in some way this was related to the Constitution are just wrong. It was primarily a ceremonial event.
Police Inquiry
Asked why Scotland Yard thought No10 were leaking details of emails to wreck their inquiry, the PMOS asked if Scotland Yard really thought that. The reporter responded by saying that the papers said so. The PMOS went on to say that suggestions that we leaked, or were trying to leak, this information, were just plain wrong, and that judgement was not based on his personal hunch, but because there were inaccuracies in reports that meant it could not have come from No.10. He added he could not get into what the inaccuracies were as the approach from No.10, all the way through, had been that we are against all leaks, all speculation. It was a police investigation that should just be allowed proceed. All the weekend had done was to illustrate precisely why the leaking in the past had been unhelpful, just as this leak had been unhelpful.
Asked if the PMOS was seriously suggesting that the Government did not leak, the PMOS said what he was seriously suggesting that on this issue that this leak did not come from No.10.
Asked if the PMOS was confident that it was the police who leaked the information, the PMOS said he did not know who leaked the information. There were people in the lobby briefing who he suspected did know but he did not and it would be wrong, in any way for him to speculate about who did.
Asked what the PMOS meant by no one in No.10, did that include everyone who works there, part and full time, the PMOS said that what it certainly included anybody who had any knowledge of this case.
Asked if the PMOS’s statement applied not just to the BBC leak but also the Sun’s email story this morning with similar content, the PMOS said it applied full stop to this story as a whole.
Asked if the email out there was accurate, the PMOS said that he would not get into what was inaccurate and what wasn’t in any way, but there were inaccuracies and there had been inaccuracies in the way the story was put to No.10.
Asked if the police had been in contact with the Prime Minister about the inquiry recently, the PMOS said no.
Asked to sum up the relationship between the No.10 and the Metropolitan Police, the PMOS said that there was an investigation going on, it was entirely proper the that that investigation went on. We were not getting into giving a running commentary on it. If this sounded familiar it was because it was, since that had been our line and our approach right from the start of this. At times it was very frustrating, but that’s life.
Stock Markets
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned by slide in the stock market, the PMOS said he would not comment on the stock market but thanked the reporter for her question.
Social Exclusion
Asked about the line coming from think tanks that there was an economic gulf growing between London and the rest of the country and this was a danger economically, the PMOS said that the economic growth throughout the country showed that the country as a whole was benefiting from the Government’s economic policies. If you looked, for instance, at today’s employment figures, which were outlined at the press conference on the Freud report, what it showed was that we have amongst the highest employment levels throughout the country in terms of the G8 countries.
Northern Ireland
Asked if there would be any Prime Ministerial words following the elections, the PMOS said that he was sure the Prime Minister would say something at some stage but not sure when. Asked if there would be anything before the weekend, the PMOS again recommended reporters to wait and see but added nothing would be rushed, the deadline is 26th March and St Patrick’s Day came before that. Asked if there was any likelihood of the Prime Minister being in Washington on St Patrick’s Day, the PMOS said no.
School Discipline
Asked about the suggestion that to improve school discipline would be to remove the right of parents of expelled children to appeal against those expulsions as 20 percent of all expulsions are overturned on appeal and did the Prime Minister have any personal sympathy that this would lead to an improvement and an option worth looking at, the PMOS said that it was down to schools and the local authorities to decide on the matter.
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