Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: PM’s Speech, Nothern Ireland and Prime Minister.
PM’s Speech
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister would be making a speech today on public services at the Chartermark Conference in Central London. He would reinforce the extreme importance of the reform programme, he would highlight the efforts of individuals in making people’s experience of public services better and would also be paying tribute to the work of public servants.
Northern Ireland
Asked where we were on Northern Ireland in the light of yesterday’s events, the PMOS said that we were tired but unbowed. It was an understatement to say that yesterday had not worked out in the way we had hoped. However, it was important not to lose sight of what had been achieved. For example, Gerry Adams had made a statement, endorsed by the IRA, which stated that the two Governments and the Unionists could move forward confident of the Republican movement’s commitment to exclusively peaceful means - which they knew we would interpret as meaning that all paramilitary activity must come to an end now. Equally, there had been a significant act of decommissioning, as reported by General de Chastelain. Admittedly, we found ourselves in an absurd position whereby we were unable to explain in lay terms just how significant that event was. The usage of expressions such as "heavy, medium and light ordnance" obviously meant something to military people but we would acknowledge that it did not carry the same conviction for ordinary members of the public. It was precisely that circle which we recognised we had to square. The parties had already been in contact with each other, and we, in turn, would be in contact with them and the Irish Government. In substantive terms, yesterday had seen a very important move forward. Essentially the difficulty was a translation and communication problem. If we were able to resolve it, we would be able to put the process back on track.
Asked if the Prime Minister was frustrated at what had happened given he had been calling for clarity from the outset, the PMOS said it was important to recognise, as Ambassador Sens had pointed out, that the material which had been decommissioned could have caused death and destruction on a huge scale. Clearly, therefore, the act of decommissioning announced yesterday had been a significant move. Communication and translation difficulties were, in many ways, at the heart of the problems in Northern Ireland. People had different concerns and expressed themselves in different ways. For example, Gerry Adams had stated that a particular concern of the Republican movement related to the fact that it did not want to feel humiliated - something which we understood completely. It went without saying that we were not interested in humiliation or doing anything which could be interpreted as humiliating to anyone. Equally, however, we recognised the importance of clarity and the need for the Unionist leadership to be able to explain to its electorate exactly how much progress had been made in terms that were understandable. Put to him that that the only problem was the fact that the Republican movement would not give General de Chastelain permission to describe in detail how much weaponry had been decommissioned, the PMOS said that the problem was that the Republicans spoke in their own language, as it were. If the Unionists understood them, there would be no problem. That was precisely the nature of the problem we were trying to resolve in Northern Ireland. It was therefore important to try to find a common language so that the Republicans would not feel that they were being humiliated and so that the Unionists would be able to understand the significance of the act of decommissioning yesterday.
Asked if the Prime Minister himself was directly involved in the contacts with the parties today, and if so, how much of his time it was taking up, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had been preparing for PMQs this morning, as you would expect, but he was being kept fully informed of developments. As and when it was felt necessary for him to talk to all the parties in Northern Ireland, he would do so. This would take up as much of his time as it needed to take up. He considered it a priority to try to square the circle as quickly as possible. No one was taking success for granted. We recognised the difficulties on all sides. However, we believed it was worth having a good go at trying to crack the outstanding issues.
Asked if the fact that there had been no all-night session last night was indicative of the Prime Minister’s state of health or whether it was because he did not believe that a deal could be struck straight away, the PMOS said that the events of Sunday had had no impact on what had happened yesterday. It had become clear last night that there was an issue relating to confidentiality which could only be resolved by further consultation both within and between the parties. It had been recognised that that was not going to happen in the space of a few hours last night. Consequently, at the time of the two Prime Ministers’ press conference it had been decided that it would be better to draw a line and give the parties time to reflect on what had happened, as indeed some of the key players had said they would be grateful to be able to do. Asked if he was signalling that we were not expecting any announcement until next week, the PMOS said no. He was simply making the point that it had been considered pointless to force the pace last night. Contacts were taking place today and it was those which would determine the pace of events.
Asked if there was a general acceptance that Article 8 of the Good Friday Agreement - which related to confidentiality, and to which the Unionists had signed up - was now obsolete, the PMOS said that progress could be made in a process such as this by sticking to the letter of agreements only to a certain degree. Inevitably, we all became victims of our own success as progress was made because people wanted to know more about what was being done. Therefore, as General de Chastelain had observed yesterday, what had been acceptable, and accepted as necessary, for the first round of decommissioning became less acceptable as time went on. Consequently, it was important to deal with the reality of people’s perceptions rather than stick to the strict letter of agreements which had been made in the past.
Questioned as to whether our optimism yesterday had been based on the fact that we had believed the IRA would bring clarity and transparency into the process and whether the Prime Minister felt that they had reneged on a deal that had been made, the PMOS said that yesterday had seen significant movement in terms of words and commitments from Gerry Adams and the IRA. There had also been a significant act of decommissioning. We had always known that there was a tension between the IRA’s desire for confidentiality and the Republicans’ wish not to be humiliated, and the Ulster Unionists’ desire for as much transparency as possible. How that tension might resolve itself was a matter which, in essence, could only be decided when General de Chastelain delivered his report. There was no point playing the blame game this morning in terms of examining who had dug the hole, but rather we should concentrate on how we were going to get out of it.
Asked how much the process was dependant on the good relationship between Gerry Adams and David Trimble and what the Prime Minister could do to encourage it along, the PMOS said that what had been interesting about last night was the fact that it had only taken a matter of hours and minutes to re-establish contact between the parties whereas it had taken six to nine months to do so during any impasse in the past. Of course he was not attempting to oversell the outcome of that dialogue. That said, it was an interesting development. Obviously we could not guarantee success. However, we believed that it was worth having another go at trying to crack the slightly surreal position we were in.
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with the view expressed by Sinn Fein party chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin, who had suggested that the problem could be resolved if the Prime Minister stated specifically, in language considered acceptable to the Unionists, that the IRA was in compliance with the ‘agreed scheme’, the PMOS said that the key was resolving the tension between Republicans’ desire for confidentiality and the need to say explicitly, in terms understood by the Unionists, that the act of decommission yesterday was not just a rusty old pike put in the thatch. In the end, what mattered was being able to resolve the tension. We were open to innovative suggestions as to how to achieve such a thing.
Questioned as to whether General de Chastelain was going to ’stick around’ in Northern Ireland for a while, the PMOS said that the General would stay for as long as was considered necessary. We paid tribute to the work he had done over a long period. It had clearly been a frustrating job at times, but an important one nevertheless.
Asked if the 26 November elections were absolutely set in stone, the PMOS said that the election date had been set. Asked to explain why the elections had been announced yesterday morning before we had had a clear idea about the sequence of events taking place, the PMOS said that he would disagree with the premise of the question. We had had a clear idea that Gerry Adams and the IRA would be issuing statements, which they had. We had been clear that they would move the process forward, which they had done significantly. We had also had a clear idea that there would be an act of decommissioning, which had happened. However, it was only when General de Chastelain had returned that people realised there was a problem. That was the issue which had to be resolved. It was worth pointing out that we never embarked on the final phase of a session such as this being 100% sure about what would happen. If we waited until we were 100% sure, then, frankly, we would never get there.
Prime Minister
Asked if the Prime Minister was on any medication, the PMOS said that he had no intention of providing a breakdown of the Prime Minister’s medical records. That said, he had been asked yesterday whether a doctor had accompanied the Prime Minister to Northern Ireland, to which he had replied no. Pressed as to whether the Prime Minister was taking any medication as a result of the events of Sunday, the PMOS repeated that he had no intention of discussing what medication the Prime Minister might or might not be on. Put to him that his colleague had said on Monday that the Prime Minister was not taking any follow-up medication for his condition and whether his refusal to reiterate the line was an indication that the position had changed, the PMOS said that his reply to the questions should not be seen as indicating any change. He was simply choosing not to discuss details of the Prime Minister’s health, except when it was right and proper for him to do so. Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister had had a medical check-up since Sunday, the PMOS said not as far as he was aware. He was due to have check-up in about three weeks’ time, in accordance with normal practice.
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