Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: European Constitution, PM/Chancellor, European Summit/IGC, Crime Statistics and GM Crops.
European Constitution
Asked for a reaction to comments attributed to Sir Stephen Wall in which he had appeared to suggest that the Government’s position on the European Constitution in terms of not holding a referendum was ‘intolerable’, the PMOS said that his colleague was accompanying the Prime Minister to the European Summit in Brussels today and had already briefed on this matter to journalists who were out there. The comments as reported in some of today’s papers did not represent Sir Stephen’s view in any way, shape or form. For the sake of completeness, the PMOS also added that he did not recognise today’s Telegraph splash either.
Asked if the Government was likely to change its position on holding a referendum, the PMOS said that the Government’s position remained as known to journalists. There were no plans to change it. Pressed as to whether the option to hold a referendum had been ruled out permanently, the PMOS referred journalists to Hansard for the latest quotes from the Prime Minister on this issue. The Government’s position had not changed. Put to him that the Government would not hold a referendum because the contents of the Constitution would not breach our red lines, the PMOS said that was a reasonable representation. The Government’s position was set out in the White Paper. We had said that we did not envisage the Constitution bringing forward significant and fundamental change in the relationship between member states and the EU.
PM/Chancellor
Asked if Downing Street was concerned that Peter Riddell of the Times was writing about apparent tensions between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, the PMOS said no. He hadn’t heard anyone register any concerns about Mr Riddell’s article or heard it discussed in Government this morning. Asked if he recognised what Mr Riddell had written, the PMOS said that as a result of questions that journalists had put to us, we had said consistently that the interpretation which had been put on the Prime Minister’s interview with the Times had been made by the Times themselves. In our view, the article today simply validated what we had been saying during the course of this week. In answer to further questions, the PMOS said we had not recognised the claim by some journalists that the Times headline had been ‘manufactured’ in Downing Street, so today’s article by Mr Riddell again set the record straight in that regard. It was no great deal. No one here had been very bothered about it in the first place, although it would seem that some journalists were.
European Summit/IGC
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister was concerned that President Chirac would be representing Chancellor Schroeder at the European Summit in Brussels on Friday, the PMOS said no. It was a decision which had been reached between Germany and France as a result of Chancellor Schroeder’s domestic engagements. What it illustrated was that we were at the start of the IGC process, not at the end. Obviously, there was going to be a lot more discussion between now and its conclusion. Asked if there were any circumstances in which the Prime Minister might ask Chancellor Schroeder to represent the UK, the PMOS said he thought we were reaching circumstances where this briefing ought to conclude.
Crime Statistics
Asked for a reaction to the latest figures showing that violent crime had risen by 7%, the PMOS pointed out that the statistics also showed that robbery was down 7% and that burglary and vehicle crime had also fallen. Moreover, the chance of being a victim of crime remained the lowest for twenty years. In terms of violent crime, however, the British Crime Survey showed that violent crime had fallen by 5%. Police-recorded violent crime had risen by 12%. Much of this increase was due to better reporting and recording of low-level thuggery. Of course that was not to suggest that the Government was complacent about crime. It wasn’t. That was why we had record numbers of police and had put in place measures to tackle gun crime. In relation to gun crime in particular, he pointed out that although any fatal incident was a tragedy and was to be deplored, it was important to note that the risk of a fatal shooting in England and Wales was still one of the lowest in the world. Gun crime accounted for less than half a percent of all recorded crime.
GM Crops
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister was disappointed that Monsanto had decided to pull out of the European cereal seed business, the PMOS said that any decision by Monsanto in relation to its commercial interests in the UK or elsewhere was entirely a matter for the company. The Government’s duty in relation to GM issues was to ensure that we were guided by the science. Of course we needed to protect the environment and put safety first. At the same time, however, it was important not to turn our backs on new technology should it be found to be beneficial and desirable. No one could deny that this had been a very open and transparent process. A large amount of information had been fed into the Government’s advisory body on GM issues and it was up to them to make a judgement. No decision had been taken at this stage. We were neither for nor against.
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