Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: President Bush, Iraq and Margaret Hodge.
President Bush
Asked if London council taxpayers would be expected to foot the policing bill when President Bush visited the UK next week, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that, as with all overseas visits, it was impossible to predict what the cost of the policing operation might be. It would, however, be dealt with in the normal way. The Met Police were very experienced in handling visits from foreign dignitaries, as well as demonstrations. In the last year alone, they had had to deal with something like 3,500 events. Asked to explain what the ‘normal way’ was, the PMOS said that the visit would be dealt with through the Met’s standard systems. He was not aware of any changes being made. Put to him that President Bush’s visit was being touted as the biggest security operation ever, the PMOS said that this was something the Met would be able to confirm. In any event, it was in line with their past experience. Asked again who would foot the policing bill for the visit, the PMOS said that there were procedures for deciding who should bear the cost. There was no difference between this visit and the visits of other world leaders in that respect. He referred journalists to the Home Office and the Met police for further detail.
Asked if it was standard procedure for FCO Ministers to convey information to the Met police in advance of visits from abroad, the PMOS said yes. Asked what sort of advice they would offer prior to President Bush’s visit, the PMOS warned journalists that, in chasing a non-existent conspiracy theory, they were in danger of missing the main point of this issue - namely, that operational decisions were a matter for the Met. That had been made very clear at the time of the visit of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin. This was standard procedure. Pressed as to what sort of information might be passed on by FCO Ministers, the PMOS said that it was obviously sensible to exchange factual information. However, decisions in terms of where protestors should be contained or how they should be handled for example, were entirely a matter for the police. Asked if a framework would be put in place through which the police would operate, the PMOS said that as Sir John Stevens had pointed out, there was a balance to be struck in any democracy between allowing normal life to continue as much as possible, giving people the freedom to express their opinions, and the security of visiting personnel. It went without saying that the best people to achieve that balance were the police.
Asked if there was perceived to be a greater risk of a terrorist attack when President Bush was in the UK, the PMOS said that if he was being asked if we were aware of any specific threat during the President’s visit, the answer was no. The threat level had not changed since the September 11 attacks. Questioned further, the PMOS said that as we had underlined from the outset, we would of course make the public aware of any specific threat which was of relevance to them.
Iraq
Asked whether the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary had presented the right strategy for Iraq today, given the former had said that we would see the job through whereas the latter had suggested that we might need to leave Iraq sooner than expected, the PMOS said that he had not seen Mr Straw’s remarks today and was therefore unable to comment on them. However, as the Prime Minister had been saying consistently, we needed to see the job through. That meant bringing about improvements in the infrastructure and allowing people the freedom to express their views, both of which were already happening, as well as bringing about a change in the economy, something which was beginning to be seen. However, it also meant stabilising the security situation, which we acknowledged was difficult, although it was a different picture in different parts of the country. It also meant making progress politically, which was clearly taking place, albeit at difference speeds in different parts of the country.
Questioned as to whether the appointment of an interim leader, along the lines of a Hamid Karzai figure in Afghanistan, was an option under active consideration, the PMOS said that the Iraq Governing Council (IGC) was due to set out its timetable by 15 December. That was the next step in the political process. People should exercise a little patience. Asked for a reaction to reports that Paul Bremer was frustrated at the IGC’s lack of progress, the PMOS said that he hadn’t seen Mr Bremer’s remarks and would not comment on them directly. However, everyone recognised that the IGC was an institution which had come into being after a conflict. It was the first of its kind in Iraq for over forty years. It was therefore not surprising if it was labouring a little under a steep learning curve to achieve its goals. Nevertheless, it was making progress and we believed that its ministers should be supported in the efforts they were making to start the transitional process.
Margaret Hodge
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about repeated questions concerning his Minister for Children, the PMOS said that he had dealt with the issue this morning. Margaret Hodge had issued a statement yesterday to which he had nothing to add. Asked if Mrs Hodge continued to enjoy the confidence of the Prime Minister, the PMOS said yes. Questioned as to whether she continued to enjoy the full confidence of the Prime Minister, the PMOS said that he had answered these questions this morning. He would not play journalists’ games. Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that Mrs Hodge - and the Government - would be tarnished by the stories that were emerging about her and whether he would agree that it would be easier for all if she ‘fell on her sword’, the PMOS said that he had nothing to add to what he had said this morning and what his colleague had said yesterday. Asked if the Government would pay Mrs Hodge’s legal fees if she was sued for libel, the PMOS said that he had also dealt with this issue this morning. It was a hypothetical question, which, as journalists were well aware, it wasn’t his policy to answer.
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