Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: War on Terror/Death of DC Oake, Iraq, Israel/Palestinian Conference and Higher Education White Paper.
War on Terror/Death of DC Oake
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister was due to speak to the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Michael Todd, this morning following yesterday’s tragic events. David Blunkett would also be making a Statement to the House today after PMQs.
Asked whether any of the three men arrested last night had attended Al Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, the PMOS said that it was important to observe the legalities arising from the arrests. Since those detained had not yet been charged, it would not be helpful to discuss the case in detail. He added that this was a day for mourning the death of a police officer who had been in the frontline of efforts to protect this country from terrorism. The debt that we as a society owed people such as Stephen Oake, and the heartache of his family, was what was uppermost in the mind of the Prime Minister today. No doubt the rest of the country felt the same way. The Prime Minister had met Mr Oake in his role as a member of his protection team during past visits to Manchester. In answer to further questions, the PMOS said that yesterday’s operation was an example of how the Security Service and the Police were co-operating on intelligence-led operations against those suspected of terrorist activity.
Asked to confirm reports that some of the police officers involved in yesterday’s incident had not been made aware that it was an anti-terrorist operation and whether we believed it had been right to keep them in the dark, the PMOS said that as the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police had indicated, if there were any operational lessons to be learned, he would take them forward in due course in the proper way. There was no point trying to second-guess him. Clearly this was not a day for rushing to judgement. It was a day for recognising the work being done by the police and security services as they calmly and rationally assessed the threat we were facing and responded to it appropriately. Even in these very difficult circumstances when they were mourning the loss of a colleague, they would continue to do their job and we would continue to support them in whatever way we could.
Asked what the Prime Minister would say to Mr Todd today, the PMOS said that he would send a message that our thoughts were with the family of DC Oake, as well as his colleagues at Manchester Police. This was clearly a difficult day for all of them. He would also underline our support for the work that they and the security services were doing to counter the terrorism threat.
Iraq
Asked for a reaction to criticism expressed by Church of England Bishops regarding the Prime Minister’s stance on Iraq, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had set out the case very clearly in his news conference on Monday. No one welcomed the possibility of war. Ultimately, however, it was entirely up to Saddam Hussein. If he co-operated and disarmed, then there would be no need for war. As the Prime Minister had underlined on Monday, the UK’s national security was at risk due to the very real threat posed by Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Equally, it was important for people to understand that the danger of a crossover between WMD and terrorism was also very real.
Asked if the Prime Minister was meeting backbench Labour MPs today to reassure them about his position on Iraq, the PMOS said that as a Civil Servant he was unable to comment on political matters. On Iraq more generally, however, the Prime Minister had signalled at his Sedgefield news conference last year that we would go down the UN route - but that it had to be a way of dealing with the issue, not avoiding it. As challenging and as difficult as the circumstances, people should be reassured that we were pursuing a coherent and consistent approach. Asked if the Prime Minister’s task at the PLP today was to reassure MPs or persuade them, the PMOS said that he was not a spokesman for the Labour Party. That said, the Prime Minister was seeking to explain the reasons why we had acted in the way we had, why we had put so much effort into going down the UN route, and why we were determined to achieve the objectives set out in Resolution 1441 - i.e. the disarmament of Saddam Hussein - one way or the other.
Israel/Palestinian Conference
Asked for further detail about the Prime Minister’s meeting with the Israeli Ambassador last night following the conference on Palestinian reform, the PMOS said that it had been a brief exchange which had allowed the Israeli Ambassador to hand over a letter from Prime Minister Sharon. The correspondence would remain private.
Higher Education White Paper
Questioned as to whether the forthcoming Higher Education White Paper would do anything more than set out a range of options, the PMOS said that journalists would have to be patient and wait for the White Paper to be published towards the end of this month.
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