Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Northern Ireland, Palestinian Conference, Cricket/Zimbabwe, 2012 London Olympic Bid, Two-Tier Workforce, Higher Education White Paper, Sentencing and Internet Pornography.
Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister had had a breakfast meeting this morning with four Church leaders from Northern Ireland: Archbishop of Armagh and primate of Northern Ireland Robin Eames; his Roman Catholic counterpart, Archbishop of Armagh and primate of Northern Ireland Sean Brady; Dr Russell Birney, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland; the Rev Winston Graham, President of the
Methodist Church in Ireland. They had had a wide-ranging discussion on the current situation given this was an important time in the Northern Ireland peace process and we were heading into an intensive period of discussion with the parties. The Church leaders had always had a very constructive role to play in the process. The meeting this morning had focussed in particular on the issue of sectarianism as this was a subject about which the Churches, collectively, would be holding a conference later this year.
Asked how intense the new round of negotiations would be in terms of the Prime Minister’s involvement, the PMOS said that we would have to wait and see. We were entering an important phase. In his speech in Belfast last October, the Prime Minister had set out a route-map and we would have to wait and see how things developed over the coming weeks and months. There had been serious engagement by the parties over the past week and we hoped that would continue. Asked how confident the Prime Minister was of achieving a breakthrough, the PMOS said that we had been at this point so many times in the past that we did not believe it was helpful to talk about our confidence or optimism, pessimism etc. Everyone was aware of how important the peace process was and knew exactly what was at stake.
Palestinian Conference
The PMOS said that the Prime Minister was due to meet representatives attending the conference on Palestinian reform later this afternoon. We were pleased that the conference was still going ahead after we had addressed some of the logistical problems which had presented themselves in the last ten days or so. We hoped the video-conference link direct to Ramallah would go ahead at noon. As the Prime Minister had underlined yesterday, we believed the conference was important to ensure the reform of the Palestinian Authority as a necessary step in the search for peace.
Cricket/Zimbabwe
Asked if the Government was considering putting pressure on South Africa and Australia not to send their cricket teams to Zimbabwe if the ECB decided that the England cricket team should go, the PMOS said that it was important to wait for the outcome of the ECB’s meeting today. As the Prime Minister and other Ministers had said consistently, it was not the Government’s job to order the cricket authorities not to send the England team to Zimbabwe. Ultimately, it was up to them to make their own decision. However, we continued to believe that it would be better if they did not go. The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, had indicated recently that the ICC was continuing to discuss whether games should be played in Zimbabwe or not.
Asked if we were encouraged by some reports suggesting a possible deal on President Mugabe stepping down and the subsequent establishment of a National Unity Government in Zimbabwe, the PMOS said that he had seen the reports but it was important to wait and see how things panned out. It would not be helpful to pre-empt what might or might not happen.
2012 London Olympic Bid
Asked what progress the Cabinet Committee was making in relation to a possible London bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, the PMOS said that we would reach a decision by the end of this month. It was obviously a big decision for any Government to take and there were certain criteria which had to be taken into account. First, affordability. Secondly, deliverability regarding organisation and transport infrastructure, for example. Thirdly, the legacy in terms of how a bid would affect current plans for the Thames Gateway. Fourthly, as the Prime Minister had underlined yesterday in his news conference, winability. We were aware that there would be strong competition from other cities and the Cabinet Committee would need to look at all these issues and consider them very carefully. Asked if the Government had reached a judgement as to whether it was Europe’s ‘turn’ to host the Olympics, the PMOS said no as we were not the IOC. This was just one issue amongst many which we had to assess.
Asked how involved the Prime Minister was in this issue and whether he was waiting for the Cabinet Committee to reach a decision before forming his own opinion, the PMOS said that he was clearly involved in the process, as you would expect. However, there was a Cabinet Committee process which was currently underway and it was important to wait for that to conclude. Tessa Jowell would be giving evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on the issue tomorrow. Richard Caborn was giving evidence today.
Asked if the Prime Minister was feeling positive about the potential bid, the PMOS said that there were many different judgements which had to be taken. It was not a process that could - or should - be entered into lightly. We had to make sure that we were making the right assessments against the right criteria. Pressed as to whether the Prime Minister would like to see London host the Olympics, the PMOS said that of course any country would have a strong desire to do so. However, there was a raft of decisions and judgements which had be taken along the way before deciding whether to put forward a formal bid. The process had not yet reached a conclusion.
Two-Tier Workforce
Asked if the Government agreed with John Edmonds’ assessment today that talks to reach a deal regarding a two-tier workforce in the public sector had broken down, the PMOS reminded journalists that we had said we would publish a Code of Practice and we remained committed to doing so. Such a Code would ensure that local authority employees who were being transferred to private companies would continue to keep broadly comparable terms and conditions. Nick Raynsford would be making an announcement on this issue on Thursday. Questioned further about the deal, the PMOS said that journalists should be patient and wait for Thursday’s announcement.
Higher Education White Paper
Questioned as to whether the essential structure for the Higher Education White Paper had been agreed or whether there was a possibility that the White Paper might be delayed beyond the end of this month, the PMOS said that some fine-tuning was still taking place, as you would expect concerning an issue as important as this. However, we were continuing to expect the White Paper to be published this month. He confirmed it would not be this week.
Sentencing
Asked if the Prime Minister was happy with the Lord Chief Justice’s clarification this morning regarding his earlier remarks about sentencing, the PMOS said it had made clear from the outset that community sanctions would apply to first-time burglars if there were no aggravating circumstances. That had then been interpreted as though any repeat offender who turned to burglary, or first-time burglars even with aggravating circumstances, would not be jailed. As the Lord Chief Justice had underlined today, that was simply not the case and we welcomed his clarification.
Asked if the aim was to cut the number of people being sent to prison, the PMOS said that the aim was to break the cycle of offending and protect the public. In certain circumstances, it would be appropriate to impose a community sentence. Cases relating to aggravated burglary and repeat offending, however, would obviously be deserving of a custodial sentence. It was important for us to send out the strongest possible signal that burglary was a serious offence. As the Prime Minister had underlined in the House last week, a larger number of first-time offenders had been convicted under this Government than before 1997. Asked to explain what he meant by ‘repeat offending’, the PMOS said that he was talking about someone with a previous criminal record who had turned to burglary or someone who had a conviction for burglary and had then re-offended.
Internet Pornography
Asked the Prime Minister’s view of the stories about Pete Townshend over the last few days given the fact that two former Ministers were said to be implicated, the PMOS said that a police investigation was ongoing and it would not be appropriate to comment. He pointed out that Hilary Benn had spoken about the issue of child pornography and the internet in general terms in the past.
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