Press Briefing: 11am Tuesday 21 October 2003

Briefing from the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman on: Northern Ireland, EU Defence, Hunting, Princess Diana and Prime Minister.

Northern Ireland

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister would be travelling to Northern Ireland this morning. As things stood, he would have lunch and a meeting with the Taoiseach, followed by a press event at some point this afternoon. He hoped to return in time for his weekly Audience with the Queen this evening. The PMOS reminded journalists of our announcement this morning that elections would be held in Northern Ireland on 26 November. What we were seeing today was the unfolding of an agreed sequence of events. However, it was important to wait for it to conclude before judging the outcome.

Asked if we were expecting the sequence of events to be over by the end of the day, the PMOS said that that was our expectation. In the first instance, the Prime Minister was travelling to Northern Ireland to get a readout from General John de Chastelain. What made this occasion different from previous moments during the peace process was the fact that it was being driven by the parties, with the two Governments playing a supporting role. There had been no Weston Park-style 'hot-housing', and nor had there been any grandstanding in recent weeks. What we had seen was high-quality engagement between the parties. We had always maintained that confidence between them was the lifeblood of the political process in Northern Ireland. Without it, it inevitably became difficult to make progress. There had been a very positive engagement by the parties, particularly over the last few weeks. Potentially this could be the most significant day in the Northern Ireland peace process since the Good Friday Agreement. We would have to wait and see how today panned out.

Asked if there was an expectation that there would be an 'act of completion' by the end of today, the PMOS said he did not think it would be helpful to try to pre-judge what might happen today. Let the sequence of events follow through and then we could talk about it. Pressed as to whether the sequence of events included an act of decommissioning, the PMOS said that it was important to wait and see what General John de Chastelain had to say about the matter. He would be reporting to the Prime Minister shortly.

Asked when it had been decided that the sequence of events would unfold today, the PMOS said that this was something towards which everyone had been working for some considerable time. In politics, particularly in Northern Ireland, nothing was agreed until everything was agreed. Pressed further, the PMOS said that it was not a question of picking a day at random. It depended on when - and whether - things came together. That had happened in recent days after the discussions in the last few weeks.

Questioned about the Prime Minister's personal involvement in today's events, the PMOS said that he had spoken to the Taoiseach yesterday and had met David Trimble and Gerry Adams in Downing Street last Monday. He had put enormous effort into the process from the word go. However, what was qualitatively different about today was the fact that it was the parties themselves which had been driving the process forward without the two Governments having to act as interlocutors in the way they usually did. It was up to the parties to have a shared confidence to progress and move forward, and it appeared to be that that was what they had done. The Government had obligations, but this was an Agreement between the parties.

Asked if we were happy with the language being used by the Republicans and whether the Prime Minister was confident that the war was now over, the PMOS said that he understood why he was being asked these questions. However, it was still relatively early on in a day which would see a lot of activity. It was worth waiting for events to unfold. Asked if the Prime Minister was confident that the announcement of elections would lead to a stable power-sharing Government in Northern Ireland, the PMOS said that everyone had been working towards establishing permanent institutions and a permanent peace. While it was important to exercise a little patience, it was clear that today was potentially a very important day. In answer to further questions, the PMOS pointed out that this was coming after what everybody would acknowledge had been one of the quietest summers in Northern Ireland for many years. In addition, a shadow Monitoring Commission had been set up which would ensure that all the parties met their obligations. Put to him that Gerry Adams had said this morning that the Monitoring Commission was a breach of the Good Friday Agreement because it gave the power of sanction to a British Minister who had no electoral mandate in Northern Ireland, the PMOS repeated that it was important to wait and see how the rest of the day developed. The Prime Minister was going to Northern Ireland this morning after a period of intense behind-the-scenes discussions. We now had an election date and there would be further activity during the course of the day. He encouraged journalists to use the Prime Minister's words this afternoon rather than his.

EU Defence

Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister stood by his commitment made to President Bush at Camp David that there would be no European force acting outside of NATO, the PMOS said that the position on European defence remained entirely as set out by the Prime Minister at the European Council in Brussels last week where he had said, "We need, of course, strong European defence, but nothing whatever must put at risk our essential defence guarantees within NATO". Clearly, it made sense for there to be a European defence capability where NATO chose not to be engaged - and that obviously strengthened, rather than weakened, the international community's defence capability.

Hunting

In answer to questions about hunting, the PMOS said that the Bill was currently in its report stage in the Lords. We would have to wait and see how things progressed. Asked if the Government was concerned that it would have to resurrect the Bill in the next, no doubt over-crowded, parliamentary session, the PMOS pointed out that the current session had not yet concluded and it would not be helpful to speculate about what might or might not happen in the interim. Without wishing to sound like a football manager, he suggested we took one Parliamentary session at a time.

Princess Diana

Asked if the Government would be receptive to the idea of a public inquiry into the death of Princess Diana, as called for by Mohammed Al-Fayed, the PMOS said that as everyone was aware, the French authorities had conducted an exhaustive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Princess Diana's death. In our view, nothing would be gained from repeating the exercise here. However, there would be a routine coroner's inquest in Britain once the final legal processes were completed in France.

Prime Minister

Asked for a reaction to today's Independent story suggesting that the Prime Minister believed that strong coffee at the European Council was to blame for the incident over the weekend, the PMOS said that we had spent both briefings yesterday going into exhaustive detail about the events at the weekend. That was Sunday. Today was Tuesday and we were now focussing on important issues relating to Northern Ireland. He pointed out that a large number of medical experts had said that the causes of the particular condition suffered by the Prime Minister were many and varied. The Prime Minister considered what had happened to be just one of those things. We didn't know what was responsible for it. Asked how the Prime Minister was this morning, the PMOS said that he hadn't felt the need to obtain a medical update on the Prime Minister today. If you were fully recovered, then you were fully recovered. In any event, he would be out and about in Northern Ireland today so people could judge for themselves.