Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Security and Terrorism, Alan Ball, Iraq, Boris Yeltsin and EU Treaty
Security and Terrorism
Put that Sir Paul Levy had suggested that there should be an inquiry into who leaked what in the wake of Peter Clarke’s speech yesterday, and did we support that, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that rather than talk about inquiries, what was important was that we fully supported what Peter Clarke had said. The Home Secretary had categorically set out his position on this, and that was all that should be said. What was important was that we kept the focus on what Peter Clarke was talking about, and as yesterday’s first meeting of the new Committee underlined, the threat from terrorism remained severe. Therefore, we had to be focused on that.
Put that Peter Clarke had emphasised an unauthorised leak, the PMOS replied that what people had to ask was whether there was a realistic possibility of finding out who had come out with the leak. The PMOS added that that was not a matter for him to decide, and the important thing was that we fully supported Peter Clarke in his view that leaks of this kind were against the national interest.
Asked if there might be a move towards the police having to sign the Official Secrets Act, the PMOS said that what was important was that we focused on what we had to do to counter terrorism. Peter Clarke’s speech covered many other aspects apart from the leak, and what was important was that we kept the focus on that counter terrorist effort, rather than undermine it through leaks that damaged police investigations.
Alan Ball
Asked if there were any thoughts about the death of Alan Ball, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was saddened by Alan Ball’s death and hugely admired him.
Iraq
Put that this had been the worst month for British casualties in Iraq since the war had begun, were there any thoughts on why or on withdrawal, the PMOS replied that he was not aware of any changes to our plans regarding withdrawal. With regards to why, what we needed to focus on was obviously at an operational level, Commanders would assess any implications, but that was a matter for them. At a bigger picture level, what we had to focus on were the efforts, both in Basra and Baghdad, to transfer responsibility to the Iraqi authorities as quickly as possible, and to do so when the conditions on the ground were right. That was a matter of assessment, and what it did not in any way affect was our determination to do the job.
Asked why things were getting worse, the PMOS said that he did not want to give a running commentary on operational assessments, as that was better done on the ground in Iraq, and it was for them to judge whether it was wise or not to talk about it.
Boris Yeltsin
Put that the Duke of York and John Major were attending the state funeral of Boris Yeltsin, but was there anyone representing the Government as well, the PMOS replied that he was not aware of any further plans, but America was being represented by former Presidents Bush and Clinton and that appeared to reflect what other countries were doing.
Asked if we would send the Deputy Prime Minister, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any plans to send him.
EU Treaty
Asked by the Sun if the Prime Minister was able to quell Angela Merkel’s efforts to revive the EU constitution during his visit yesterday, the PMOS replied that firstly, he wanted to correct some things that had been written today. There were no plans to in any way sign away the ability of this country to defend itself, no matter what the view of our EU partners. Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) had been part of the EU for a long time, but the QMV we agreed to was only when it was in this country’s interests, such as in pursuing the Single Market which was something that the Sun newspaper supported. What was necessary was to look at what actually helped an EU of 27 work in a way that was not necessary for an EU of 6 or 15. What was important was that we engaged with the EU President - Angela Merkel in this case - who was someone who was fully aware of the need to move Europe forward in a practical way, and in a way that did respond to the votes that we had had in Europe, for example in Holland and France. What did not work, however, was to stand on the sidelines and simply say no.
Asked if there was any clarification after the meeting with Chancellor Merkel as to what they were working towards for June, the PMOS replied that this was very much a preliminary discussion, with us putting forward our view which coincided with others, including the Dutch Prime Minister. It was for Chancellor Merkel as EU President to listen to the views around Europe before coming up with a consensus, and we were happy to engage in that process. However, we were very clear about the sort of things that we believed would and would not work, and the Prime Minister had set those out last week in his press conference with Prime Minister Balkenende.
Put that it was noticeable, even when she was putting UK journalists right, that Chancellor Merkel was still talking about a constitutional treaty, but we were not, the PMOS said that at this stage, these were preliminary discussions. What we had to do was to let the discussions take place before reaching a judgement. What was important was that the Prime Minister had set out the parameters that he believed, and that included not having the characteristics of a constitution.
Put that Chancellor Merkel had also said that she expected to have meetings with the Prime Minister before he left office, and were we anticipating a lot of shuttle diplomacy, the PMOS said that inevitably, this was an issue that was going to pick up. As the Prime Minister had said, he firmly believed that if it was possible to reach consensus before June, then it was better that the EU got rid of this issue and focused on the real practical issues that people wanted progress on. The way to make the EU effective on those real practical issues was to resolve the issues about organisation that a Europe of 27 had to address in a different way than it did previously.
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