Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Taoiseach, Lockerbie, Kashmir, Europe, Drugs and Wembley.
Taoiseach
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister had spoken to the Taoiseach yesterday to congratulate him on his electoral success. Asked whether they had arranged to meet up, the PMOS said that it was likely to be at the next British-Irish Council next month, possibly before Seville. Asked whether the Prime Minister and Taoiseach would have a bilateral before then, the PMOS said it was unlikely.
Lockerbie
Asked why Jack Straw was meeting the families of the Lockerbie victims, the PMOS said that it was important for us to remain in contact with them. Indeed, he would phrase the question another way: it would surely be a dereliction of Mr Straw’s duty were he not to do so given there were still a number of outstanding issues to be resolved, including that of compensation.
Asked the Government’s position on a public inquiry into the bombing, the PMOS said that we were aware of the families’ concerns and would ensure that they were given full consideration when the Government reached a decision. Asked when that might be, the PMOS said he was unable to point to a timescale at this stage.
Kashmir
Asked for a reaction to what was going on in Kashmir, the PMOS said that we were taking the situation very seriously. As we had said on many previous occasions, it was important for both sides to do everything they could to de-escalate the tension. Obviously we were concerned about the military mobilisation on both sides of the border. We were urging both sides to show restraint as they had done in the past. It was important to cease all support for terrorism - in whatever form - to ensure that political dialogue could take hold. President Musharraf’s speech on 12 January this year had been significant and welcome. We would urge him to complete the work that he had started.
Asked if there was anything the British Government could do to help in light of our history in the region, the PMOS said that we had good relations with both President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee and it was always open to the Prime Minister to speak to them at key moments. His visit to the region in January had also been particularly timely. Of course, no one was saying that that this wasn’t a difficult situation. Quite clearly it was.
The Foreign Secretary had been in telephone contact with the Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers fairly frequently. It was clear that we had a role to play and we would continue to do whatever we could to help the situation, both behind the scenes and publicly. Asked about the possibility of the Prime Minister becoming directly involved, the PMOS said that there were no plans for any visits at this stage. However, he would not rule out phone contact if it was thought to be beneficial and useful.
Europe
Asked the Prime Minister’s reaction to the European Commission paper which was suggesting an end to national vetoes on foreign and home affairs policy, the PMOS said that he had not seen the paper. The Government would want to study the proposals carefully, as you would expect. At the IGC in Nice, the Government had set out its red lines relating to areas where we did not believe it was appropriate to extend Qualified Majority Voting (QMV). He pointed out that any change to the system would have to be agreed by all member states.
Asked whether this issue would be a sticking point in the Future of Europe Convention, the PMOS said that an IGC would follow the Convention where there would be discussion about a whole raft of issues relating to QMV, since we would be dealing with an enlarged EU. We would look at the whole issue very carefully because while we had red lines on extending QMV, we acknowledged that there were areas where QMV would be more appropriate and beneficial to the UK.
Drugs
Asked if the Government was in danger of sending out conflicting messages on drugs given the judiciary’s more moderate stance on cannabis for example, in contrast to today’s tough announcement on drugs in schools, the PMOS said that as we had stated in the past, we believed it was important for the Government and law enforcement agencies to focus their efforts on the drugs that did most harm. The Home Affairs Select Committee would be publishing a report overnight on drugs policy.
The Home Secretary had said that he would study it very carefully - along with the body of other opinion which was already out there - before deciding on some of these issues. Today, the Government was making it crystal clear to school pupils that there was a policy of zero tolerance towards those caught supplying drugs on school premises and that we would give strong backing to any headteacher who excluded a student caught in the act. Similarly, we believed that shock tactics, such as the video material being provided, could have a positive effect on school pupils by teaching them of the dangers and changing their behaviour.
Wembley
Asked whether Birmingham was looking increasingly likely as the site for the new national stadium, the PMOS said that the position on Wembley remained broadly as set out by Tessa Jowell in a PQ last week. Following receipt of the Carter Report and the report from David James (who had been commissioned by the FA to study the Tropus report), Ms Jowell had made a Statement to the Commons in December saying that before the Government could commit funding for Wembley - in terms of £20m for Wembley Park Tube station and £20m for assorted infrastructure around the Wembley site - it would need to be satisfied that the FA had met the four criteria which had been set out, i.e. value for money studies on the Multiplex contracts, NAO access to the relevant papers, improvements in corporate governance and confirmation that the funding was adequate and in place.
Tessa Jowell was expected to update MPs on where we were in a Statement to the House later in the week. Last week she had made it clear that the FA had made significant progress in fulfilling the criteria, but that they weren’t there yet. Obviously they needed a little more time to see whether they could conclude all the outstanding issues. Asked whether Ms Jowell would say in her Statement that time was now up, the PMOS said that Parliament would be the first to hear on Thursday. He pointed out that the project had been at least six years in gestation. While real progress was being made on the issues, it was clear that the FA needed a little more time to try to conclude them.
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