Press Briefing: 11am Wednesday 29 October 2003

Briefing from the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman on: PM Berlusconi, IDS and Hunting Bill.

PM Berlusconi

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister would be meeting Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy in Downing Street this afternoon to discuss IGC-related issues. Since the Italians currently held the EU Presidency, Mr Berlusconi was on a tour of some European capitals to discuss the IGC with European leaders and we welcomed his meeting with the Prime Minister today. Asked if the two Prime Ministers would discuss EU defence, the PMOS said that the discussion would be across the piece. It would be a work-in-progress meeting with obviously no decision-making involved.

IDS

Asked where the Prime Minister would be at 7pm this evening, the PMOS said that he would be in Downing Street. Asked if he would be watching events at Westminster, the PMOS said that he hadn't asked him. Asked if the Prime Minister had any plans to call a snap election off the back of the Conservative Party's troubles, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was getting on with his job. We would leave the Opposition to get on with what they were doing. Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister had decided to 'go easy' on the Opposition Leader in PMQs today, the PMOS said that since PMQs was only a short time away, journalists might as well be a little patient and then report what happened.

Hunting Bill

Asked if the Government was intending to bring back the Hunting Bill in the next parliamentary session, the PMOS noted that the Lords had run out of time yesterday because of the considerable amount of time they had taken to consider their own amendments of the Bill in Committee - indeed, Lord Whitty had described it as being 'pretty unprecedented'. As a result, the Bill had not even made it to the Report Stage, let alone passed backwards and forwards between the two Houses. Given the amount of other business which the Government had this session in the Lords, in terms of its flagship Bills on Criminal Justice, Anti-Social Behaviour and Foundation Hospitals for example, judgements had to be made. We would reflect on what had happened and consider the next steps that should be taken. When we were in a position to say something further, we would do so. Put to him that it appeared the Government was unable to make any guarantees about bringing back the Bill, the PMOS said that the committee stage in the Lords had come to an end yesterday for the reasons he had already set out. He had no intention of pre-empting discussions which hadn't taken place yet. Pressed further about the Government's apparent inability to make any guarantees about the Bill - for example using the Parliament Act, the PMOS said that we only ever discussed what was happening in the session we were in. It would be odd were we to get ahead of ourselves at this point given the fact that the Bill had only 'run out of time' in the Lords yesterday. Questioned as to whether the Government believed that the Lords had deliberately stalled on the Bill, the PMOS said that the Lords had obviously been scrutinising the Bill in their own way. What had happened had happened and judgements had to be taken bearing in mind other Government business currently in the Lords.