Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: BAe, Regional Visit, Prime Minister’s Visit to Washington, International Monetary Fund, The Chancellor and Iraq
BAe
Asked if there was any response to the reports that the Swiss had started to investigate the BAe debacle, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said no, it was a matter for the Swiss authorities.
Regional Visit
Asked if there had been any criticisms of the decision to use a Royal Navy helicopter just to highlight the Prime Minister’s record, the PMOS said that if a person was going round the country you have to chose the best way of doing so. Given the limitations on conventional transport a helicopter was the best way to do it. Also if you look at the actual facts, which the PMOS assumed the reporter would be primarily interested in, seven classrooms built or upgraded on average everyday for ten years, two entirely new schools and ten children’s centres built on average every week, those are figures which you can really only illustrate by going round the country. It is by visiting the various, individual places in the country that you see the actual change on the ground.
Prime Minister’s Visit to Washington
Asked what the Prime Minister saw as the main topics of conversation on the agenda when he visits Washington this week, the PMOS said climate change with the approach of the G8 Summit, Africa ditto, trade with the WTO talks coming to a head, Middle East Peace Process (MEPP), Iraq, Iran and Darfur.
Asked to expand on the issue of climate change, the PMOS said Europe has a position but equally the Prime Minister’s approach has always been that until you have a global agreed consensus on the way forward you would not be able to achieve the goals. Europe on its own cannot tackle the issue of climate change, you need the other big players and that includes the US, but also India and China. What you need is an international consensus on a way forward. That is what the Prime Minister is aiming for at the G8 + 5 in Germany this summer.
Asked the same about Africa, the PMOS said that talks would be building on Gleneagles. On Africa and climate change we set the agenda at Gleneagles and that is still being worked through, the important thing is that it should be worked through.
Asked if the Prime Minister would be meeting an other American politicians when he visits the United States other than President Bush such as the Democrats, the PMSO said he would rather brief on that tomorrow afternoon. Asked if the lobby could tempt the PMOS to brief earlier, the PMOS said no as he may be tempted in the wrong direction as the final programme was still being written.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Asked if the Prime Minister was still interested in being head of the IMF, the PMOS said that he just briefed on what the Prime Minister did as Prime Minister.
The Chancellor
Asked if there were any contingency plans for The Chancellor to be included in any of the international meetings that were coming up in June, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister would go and represent the country as Prime Minister and will represent the views of the Government and the country.
Iraq
Asked if the Prime Minister believed in hearts and minds with regards to Iraq, the PMOS said if you actually look at what the Prime Minister has said in the Los Angeles speech, if you look at what the Prime Minister had said in terms of winning the battle of ideas, if you look at what the Prime Minister has said in terms of willing the political battle, in view of what the Prime Minister has said in terms of the need to push the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP) through then you cannot say that the Prime Minister has not recognised the need to win hearts and minds. It is not something that you do overnight. It is something that you need to work on and if you go back to the Los Angeles speech the Prime Minister identified there the need to push forward on a consistent basis to win hearts and minds. Put to the PMOS that anyone who has said that the Prime Minister had not done enough to win hearts and minds would be wrong, the PMOS said that he did not know to whom the journalists was referring so he would not comment. However what the Prime Minister has always emphasised was that you must put equal weight on winning hearts and minds but also the proper security response where that is necessary.
Asked about the plans to draw Iran into talks about the future of Iraq, the PMOS said that the Government has diplomatic relations with Tehran and at the neighbourhood conferences Iran has been able to attend those. As mentioned this morning we also believe that at the same time as underlining that Iran has behaviour over the 15 sea personnel was unacceptable, we did open contacts there, which we would continue to maintain.
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