Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Euro Referendum, EU Defence and Iraq.
Euro Referendum
Questioned again about the possibility of a joint election/Euro referendum, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) drew journalists’ attention to comments the Prime Minister had made en route to Kuwait on 28 May 2003 when he had said, "I have never had the idea of holding a referendum on the same day as the General Election". That remained the position. Asked if that meant that the referendum could be held in conjunction with other elections, and if so, why the Bill published yesterday was being hailed as providing ‘maximum flexibility’ on the issue, the PMOS cautioned journalists against getting too far ahead of themselves by marking out future dates when coincidences might occur. The important point was that there would be no movement on this matter until the five economic tests were met. Back in May, the Prime Minister had been asked a legitimate and direct question about the General Election and the Euro referendum. His answer had been unequivocal. The position had not changed since then.
EU Defence
Asked when the Prime Minister had last spoken to President Bush about plans for EU defence in the light of reports that the Italians were about to make an announcement, the PMOS said that it wasn’t our policy to give a running commentary on the Prime Minister’s conversations with the President. Any proposals would come from the Italian Presidency, so the content and timing of an announcement would be a matter for them. Asked if the proposals would have been approved by the Prime Minister and agreed with President Bush, the PMOS said it was no secret that we had been in discussions on this matter with our EU allies and the US. However, we had no intention of giving a running commentary on them. He also took the opportunity to point out that the focal point for any news would be Brussels rather than anywhere else.
Iraq
Asked for a reaction to reports that nearly half of the Iraqi army had resigned and what the implications were for the UK’s armed forces in the light of plans to scale them back, the PMOS underlined that we were not planning to scale back our armed forces, as we had made clear repeatedly. He said that he had seen the reports regarding the Iraqi army, but since we had yet to identify their source, he would decline to comment on them.
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