Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Phillis Report, Hutton Report, Euro/Nissan and Tuition Fees.
Phillis Report
Asked when the Phillis Report on Government Communications would be published, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that it would be shortly. Asked for a reaction to suggestions that future briefings would be televised, the PMOS said that journalists needed to exercise a little patience and wait for the report to be published.
Hutton Report
Asked if the Prime Minister’s further submission to the Hutton Inquiry would be published, the PMOS said that our approach to this whole issue was quite simple. As the Prime Minister had said last September, we would let the judge do the judging. That meant that we were not going to say anything which might pre-empt Lord Hutton’s Report. Nor were we going to get involved in speculation as to when it might be produced or what it might say. We were going to let the judge do his work, in his own time and in his own way because that was what he had been asked to do. We believed that that was the right approach to take and was what the public would expect. He had nothing further to add. There were no ‘Yes, buts…’. Put to him that there was no reason for the submission not to be published in the light of the fact that other evidence which had been produced during the Inquiry was in the public domain and that it appeared the additional submission had only been made in response to Sir Kevin Tebbit’s late evidence session, the PMOS said that to respond to each of those points would be to break his own rules, which he had absolutely no intention of doing.
Asked if he was implying that his colleague’s assertion yesterday that the submission did not contain any new material was ‘inoperative’, the PMOS said that his colleague’s words yesterday remained on the record. He had nothing further to add to them. Asked if it was fair to conclude that if the submission did not contain any new material it meant that it had not dealt with Sir Kevin Tebbit’s evidence, the PMOS said that if he were to answer the question he would have to comment on all the speculation that was around, which he was not prepared to do. Asked why he was ‘putting up the shutters’ on this issue, the PMOS said that we were all waiting for Lord Hutton’s report to be published. In our view, it was only right and proper to wait for that to happen before speaking further about it. We believed that that was the right approach to take and was what the public would expect.
Asked if the Prime Minister had replied to the Opposition Leader’s letter to him requesting the publication of the submission, the PMOS confirmed that the letter had been received. It went without saying that a reply would be forthcoming, but he was not aware that had yet been done.
Asked if the Hutton Inquiry team had advised Downing Street that the additional material which had been submitted was considered to be ‘inadmissible’ in the light of Lord Hutton’s view, as stated on the Inquiry website, that "any material which was not deemed important enough to be used by any of the counsel during the second phase [i.e. after 15 September] is not evidence, and thus has no part in his considerations", the PMOS said that if he were to answer the question he would have to engage in the speculative debate that was going on about this issue, which he certainly had no intention of doing. Asked to explain why he would have to engage in speculation when he surely knew what was going on, the PMOS underlined again that he was not going to get involved in anything that might pre-empt Lord Hutton’s Report.
Questioned as to whether the decision to stonewall on this matter had been taken by the Prime Minister, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had stated his position very clearly last September when he had said that we should let the judge do the judging. Asked for a reassurance that the Government was not attempting to ‘knobble a judge’, the PMOS said that that was a very serious allegation to make. He queried how allowing a judge to carry out his business could be construed as trying to knobble him. Put to him that submitting material to Lord Hutton at the last minute was ‘equivalent’ to an accused person on trial approaching the judge on his way home to plead his case out of court, the PMOS said he thought that journalists should calm down and wait patiently for Lord Hutton’s Report. Put to him that he ‘needed’ to explain why the submission had been made at the last minute and why people should believe that it would not distort Lord Hutton’s conclusions so far into his deliberations, the PMOS repeated that he had no intention of saying anything which might pre-empt the Report. Besides, he had no idea, quite frankly, where to begin rebutting the allegations contained in the question. We would address all these points once the Report was published. In the meantime, he would advise journalists to exercise a little patience. Asked if he was indicating that the ‘last minute secret evidence’ would be made public once the Report had been published, the PMOS said that apart from the fact that he did not agree with the characterisation that had been put forward, he had nothing further to add to what he had already said about this matter.
Asked if the Government had been told when the Report would be presented, the PMOS said that it was, rightly, up to Lord Hutton to decide when the Report would be presented to Government and published. The PMOS said that he did not yet know when that would be, and nor did the Government. Asked why the Government hadn’t asked the Inquiry team for that information, the PMOS repeated that it was up to Lord Hutton to decide. Put to him that journalists were no longer able to speak to the Inquiry directly and that they had to go through the Government which was being ‘thoroughly uncooperative’ on this matter, the PMOS said that it was not a case of the Government being uncooperative. The point was that it was ultimately up to Lord Hutton to decide when he was ready to report. Put to him that the Report had been commissioned by the Prime Minister and that it was therefore not unreasonable for the Government to want to know exactly when it would be ready, the PMOS said that it was entirely reasonable for the judge take whatever time he felt was necessary to complete his job. Questioned as to whether those criticised in the Report would receive copies in advance, the PMOS said that advance copies of the Report were entirely a matter for Lord Hutton.
Euro/Nissan
Asked if the Government would again provide financial assistance to Nissan following concerns about the UK’s continuing non-membership of the Euro, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any approaches from Nissan in that regard. Asked if the Prime Minister had earmarked 2007 as the year to join the Euro, the PMOS said that he would leave people to work out the trajectory contained in today’s Independent report for themselves. Personally, he hadn’t been able to do so. Asked if he was saying that the report was true or untrue, the PMOS said he saying that the government’s position on the single currency hadn’t changed between Christmas and the New Year. Asked if the position included a target to join by 2007, the PMOS repeated that the position had not changed. The Chancellor would make the position clear regarding the five economic tests in his Budget.
Tuition Fees
Asked repeatedly if the Government’s position on the issue of variability had changed, the PMOS said that the Higher Education Bill would be published tomorrow. As he had said on Monday, the principles of the Bill remained unaltered. He pointed out again that international comparisons showed that, in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, variable fees could be introduced without adversely affecting student participation from less well-off families. Asked to confirm that the issue of variability remained non-negotiable, the PMOS repeated that the principles of the Higher Education Bill remained unchanged.
delicious
digg
facebook
