Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: EU Summit, Police Inquiry, Sir Alan Sugar, Lord Chief Justice, Northern Ireland Elections and Environment
EU Summit
The PMOS started by telling reporters that the Summit needed to be set in context and seen as a stepping-stone. No one would have predicted a few years ago that climate change would have been such a key agenda item at an EU summit. Secondly, it marked the next logical step following on from our Gleneagles Presidency and the agenda on energy and climate change which we had set out at Hampton Court. The next key step is now to move this on again at the G8+5 meeting in Germany this summer. We believe that can be a major turning point.
Asked if the Prime Minister had had a chance to speak to his EU Council colleagues about NATO and Afghanistan, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had talked to other leaders about NATO, but for understandable reasons we would not brief about whom he talked to or what was said. But you could take it that, as the Prime Minister said at Prime Minister’s Questions, he believes that others accept that Afghanistan is absolutely crucial and that whilst different people would play different roles, the important thing is that everybody does play their role; not the fighting methods necessarily but also the reconstruction that is necessary and that would have been the key message that we would have been putting across. Asked what the follow up to that would be, the PMOS said that there was no particular follow up event but part of an ongoing conversation, which has to be then fed back into the NATO process.
Asked if progress could be made on the detail of the emissions deal being reached today until there was a new American President in place, the PMOS said that we would very soon be publishing a Climate Change Bill. That Bill would contain a mix of measures; including renewable, nuclear and also energy efficiency measures. All of those plus the development of clean coal technology to deal with countries such as Poland and China. There is no one measure that will add up, what matters is the outcome and the outcome we want is less emissions. Therefore that is what we believe and that is why we recognise that for some countries nuclear is an important part of the mix, and it will have an impact on emissions as well which is a good thing.
Asked about how we would meet our commitment, the PMOS said that we’d have to wait and see what others do before we started to say what we have to do. But the point being made was that our approach is very multifaceted. That feeds into the European mix. If you look at the language you will see that countries will have different positions. The importance of the G8 is not that we would agree detail at the G8 but that the principles agreed include stabilisation . And that is what is important that we actually agree a stabilisation goal arising out of the G8.
Asked if the cornerstone of the Portuguese Presidency of an African EU Summit would be an upset to the UK, the PMOS said that Africa was bigger than one country and one leader. That has always been our approach. But let us see where these discussions end up. He added he would not get ahead of that. It is just as important to remember Africa is bigger than one country.
Put to PMOS that there wasn’t much time between now and the Berlin Declaration date of 24th March and wasn’t it surprising that there hadn’t been a decision on the text, the PMOS said that two and a half weeks was quite a long time and diplomats these days do work very fast. The important thing was people recognised the Berlin Declaration is there to celebrate Europe. It is separate from the issue about the Constitutional Treaty.
Asked what the document would contain and whether it would contain specific references to the Constitution, the PMOS replied he could not give detail given that others are writing it. It was not up to us to start speculating about what the outcome would be. What we shouldn’t do is create myths, and the myth here is that in some way a treaty is going to be incorporated in if. That is not the case.
Asked then if the Prime Minister raised it in discussions, the PMOS said no. What was said was it was an issue that needs discussion.
Asked if the PMOS could confirm that the British hostages in Ethiopia had been found alive, the PMOS said that in terms of Ethiopia what was important was that we have to establish the facts and we are still establishing the facts. In terms of how we handle it as a government, the Foreign Office is the best place to go.
Put to him that Italian newspapers were reporting that the Italian national kidnapped in Afghanistan was being accused by the Taliban of being a British spy, the PMOS replied that for exactly the same reason he would not say anything more about the British people involved in the incident in Ethiopia.
Asked where the Foreign Secretary was today, the PMOS said that the Foreign Secretary was in Brussels. Asked if she would be available for comment later, the PMOS said he didn’t know but what was important was that we took this very carefully. The PMOS added that there was a genuine thanks from the Government to the media for the restraint that has been shown so far in reporting the incident; it had been very much appreciated.
Asked what the content of the Open Skies deal which was under discussion, the PMOS said he thought the question was an attempt to get him to reopen the discussion.
Asked what the plans the Prime Minister had to further engage in the Middle East Peace Process, the PMOS said that we were in discussions with the Israeli Prime Minister, with the Palestinian President and with Condi Rice. In terms of the EU, he advised reporters to wait and see what happened.
Asked if the Prime Minister had expressed any sadness that this was the last Summit which he would share with President Chirac, the PMOS said that he had not been in the Prime Minister’s company all the time, but he had to admit in the time he had been in the Prime Minister’s company he had not heard the Prime Minister express that view, but he may well have done.
Asked if the Prime Minister was trying to make a point about leadership whilst he was in Brussels by walking around the town, the PMOS said that the boring answer that it was faster to walk from the hotel to the Summit rather than to get into a motorcade that then had to drive around the town.
Asked if any further details could be given on the agreement later today, the PMOS asked reporters to wait and see what the agreement actually said in black and white.
Police Inquiry
Put to him that yesterday, when the BBC in trying to lift the injunction terms on the cash for peerages case, Mrs Justice Swift had revealed that Jonathan Powell had been the intended addressee of Ruth Turner’s document and was there any reaction, the PMOS replied clearly that, this was not an email. It was not sent, and it wasn’t received. That was not what the original BBC report had been going to say, end of story.
Sir Alan Sugar
Asked if the comments made by Sir Alan Sugar that Lord Levy had been hung out to dry by No.10 and was being fixed up for a prosecution by the police, the PMOS said that anyone who had been at lobby this week or read the lobby note on the Prime Minister’s website, would be clear that we had said that the Prime Minister’s view of Lord Levy, and Lord Levy’s role, has not changed. Back at the Ramalla press conference just before Christmas, the Prime Minister said himself why he valued Lord Levy and valued the role he plays and that had not changed.
Put to him that Sir Alan had also suggested that there was anti-Semitism at the root of Lord Levy being hung out to dry, the PMOS said that it was a personal opinion of Sir Alan, and he was perfectly free to make that point. The PMOS added he was not going to get into a running commentary on what people said. The important thing was that the police investigation was allowed to continue without further leaks and further speculation.
Lord Chief Justice
Asked about the comments made by the Lord Chief Justice that convicted killers be released from gaol because otherwise gaol would be full of geriatrics, the PMOS said it was a question for the Lord Chief Justice. The Government recognised that the Lord Chief Justice had this view but we disagreed. We believed that people should be kept in prison as long as they’re judged to be a danger to society.
Northern Ireland Elections
The PMOS went on to say that the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach had done a short doorstep this morning on Northern Ireland and the summary was that both leaders had congratulated the parties who had been elected but also said that the clear message was that people now wanted the parties to set up a devolved Government by 26th March and to get on and deal with the practical issues of water rates and education.
Environment
Asked where the talks were on the various proposals, the PMOS said that even as he spoke the leaders and heads of government were discussing it round the table, so we were not yet there. He added that we believed that we would get there, we believed that in terms of the specifics, renewables, targets for cutting emissions and so on, this is real practical progress and it would send out the signal in two directions. One, to the other members of the G8 + 5 for the June meeting, which was very, very important. Two, to industry to invest in the technology which would be necessary to achieve those targets. That was important. Europe wass giving a lead; it was reflecting public opinion right across Europe but it was also giving a practical lead and that we believed was a major achievement.
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