Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: President Bush, Foundation Hospitals and Margaret Hodge.
President Bush
Acknowledging the continuing media anticipation of President Bush’s State Visit to the UK, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) took the opportunity to reiterate the Prime Minister’s view that this was precisely the right time for the President to visit this country - a view which the Prime Minister believed was widely shared throughout the country. He recognised and accepted that there were those who opposed the visit - some strongly - and that they had the right to make their voice heard. However, he also believed that the majority of people welcomed President Bush, recognised the importance of the UK’s relationship with the US and acknowledged the commitment that was being shown to establish democracy in Iraq, alongside our diplomats and soldiers. This morning’s Guardian poll showed support for the Prime Minister’s view inasmuch as it recorded a more rounded analysis of public opinion. Consequently, the Prime Minister believed it was important for the voice of those who supported the visit to be heard along with the voice of the protestors and the Government. The PMOS also took the opportunity to underline that the 14,000 policing figure which had been reported in some of today’s papers referred to the number of shifts to be worked, not the number of police officers on duty. So for example, it was possible that one police officer could work anything up to four shifts, which would reduce significantly the figure which had been inaccurately reported. In addition, reports that the whole of Central London would be cordoned off during the visit were wrong. That was simply not the case. Arrangements were being handled by the Met Police and journalists should contact them to obtain further detail.
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister was issuing an instruction to newsdesks to listen to the ordinary person on the street, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister would never be so bold as to instruct newsdesks about anything. He was simply making the point that there was a more rounded view to be taken. The Guardian poll showed clearly that people were divided on the issue of the President’s visit - and that there was even a majority who supported it. Therefore, in the same way that the voice of those who opposed the visit should be heard, the voice of those who supported it should be just as valid - and that did not mean only interviewing Ministers and officials, but ordinary people on the street as well.
Asked how many police officers would be involved in the security operation during the President’s visit, the PMOS said that the calculations involved a degree of arithmetic that was beyond his ken because he would need to divide the 14,000 figure by the number of police officers working different shift patterns throughout the week, which he thought was a bit too complex for a Tuesday morning press briefing.
Asked to explain why it was precisely the right time for President Bush to visit the country, the PMOS said the Prime Minister recognised that public opinion on Iraq was divided - but it was important to understand that it had been divided even before the conflict. We acknowledged that some difficulties still remained in Iraq, for example in terms of the security issue. Nevertheless, people should not overlook the fact that we continued to make progress in trying to establish democracy there. The announcement at the weekend regarding the Iraq Governing Council’s (IGC) timetable was proof of that. We were also continuing to make progress in establishing a basic infrastructure in a country which had been two thirds dependent on UN aid even before the conflict. Clearly there was a mixed picture which people needed to take into account. The Prime Minister believed that this country was a mature democracy which could debate responsibly the benefits and the downsides of any course of action that was taken. Iraq was one such issue. But this visit was not just about Iraq. It was also about the wider UK-US relationship in terms of the economy and culture, for example - a fact which the Prime Minister believed that many people appreciated. Pressed as to why this week was the right time for President Bush to visit the UK, the PMOS said that Saturday’s statement by the IGC showed that, while events in Iraq would ebb and flow, we were at a particularly important point of the process in terms of determining future developments over the next six to nine months in Iraq. Equally, it was important to recognise that Iraq was just one of the many issues which tied us to the US. In our view, it was important to have moments where we able to celebrate the breadth and depth of our relationship.
Asked if the Prime Minister was ‘completely relaxed’ about the fact that the police were allowing 100,000 protestors to march up Whitehall at the same time that President Bush would be visiting Downing Street, the PMOS said that if there was one thing he had learned over many years in this business, it was never to predict the size of a protest in advance. Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that a large demonstration would be taking place in Whitehall at the time of his meeting with President Bush, the PMOS said that that was entirely a matter for the Met. We respected their operational decisions.
Questioned as to whether President Bush would be meeting the families of soldiers who had been killed in Iraq, the PMOS said yes. The MoD was the lead Department involved in this particular aspect of the Presidential visit and that journalists should contact them for further detail.
Asked whether the issue of the Guantanamo Bay detainees might be resolved during the President’s visit, the PMOS said that discussions were continuing on this matter between the Attorney General and his US counterparts. He suspected that they would continue beyond the visit as well. Asked if the Prime Minister would raise the issue with the President during their meeting, the PMOS said that discussions about this matter were ongoing. He wouldn’t be surprised if the issue came up in passing. However, the detail was being handled by the Attorney General and his officials.
Questioned as to whether the issue of US steel tariffs would be raised, the PMOS said that the US was aware of our position on this matter. But again, while he wouldn’t be surprised if the issue came up in passing, the lead was being taken elsewhere. Asked if any substantive issues would be discussed in depth by the Prime Minister and the President rather than just in passing, the PMOS suggested that the question would imply a degree of misunderstanding about the nature of the visit. The Prime Minister and the President were in contact on a weekly basis. Their officials spoke more frequently. This week’s visit was simply part of a continuing conversation. It bore no resemblance to a post-Second World War summit comprising leaders who only met up once a year, if that. The result of the regular contacts meant that there was a better and shared understanding of the evolving situation in Iraq and elsewhere. That was why it was important for people to recognise that there were real benefits from such an exercise.
Asked why the Prime Minister’s ‘allies’ were targeting the US over its exports to the UK and Europe in order to undermine the President’s re-election if we had such a good relationship with him and the US, the PMOS said that if he was being asked about Stephen Byers’ comments, his colleague had answered questions about that yesterday. If he was being asked about the WTO announcement, it was important to recognise that the organisation was an independent body which had come to its own conclusions about the legality of the US steel tariffs and had ruled that this matter should be corrected. Put to him that he was putting out a mixed message - that on the one hand we were saying that there were no problems with the UK-US relationship, while on the other hand there were clearly serious problems, the PMOS said that the question was based on the premise that everything in life was black and white, right and wrong. The world was more complex than that in terms of individual relationships, as well as relations between countries. The relationship between the UK and the US, as with our relationship with other countries, comprised many different elements. No one who had watched, listened or observed the Prime Minister - in the last two years in particular - could doubt the sincerity and genuineness of his commitment to the relationship with the US, a fact acknowledged by the President himself. That said, he believed that the relationship with Europe was just as important. As he had underlined in his Guildhall speech last week, he believed we should move forward equally with those two pillars, not put ourselves in the false position of having to choose between them.
Asked for Downing Street’s reaction to Clare Short’s accusation that the Prime Minister had lied in saying that he had raised the issue of human rights in talks with the Chinese President, the PMOS said that he was not aware of the specifics of Ms Short’s comments. However, what the Prime Minister said clearly remained on the record.
Foundation Hospitals
Asked if the Prime Minister would be voting in the Commons tomorrow on foundation hospitals, the PMOS said that we would brief on the Prime Minister’s itinerary tomorrow. No one was disputing the fact that the issue was important, but we would talk about it tomorrow. Asked if the fact that Richard Caborn had been called back from Australia to vote was an indication that the Prime Minister was concerned it was going to be a close result, the PMOS said no one was denying that it was an important vote. However, since it had yet take to place, it would not benefit anyone to engage in speculation about it.
Margaret Hodge
Asked to confirm that neither Margaret Hodge’s donation to NACRO nor the payment of any legal fees would be met by the taxpayer, the PMOS said that the DfES had already given that assurance. Asked if this was the price she had to pay for remaining as a Minister, the PMOS said that as we had been underlining all week, Mrs Hodge remained in Government with the full confidence of the Prime Minister.
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