Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Iraq, Clare Short, Middle East, PM Parklife and MMR.
Iraq
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) informed journalists that the Prime Minister warmly welcomed today’s announcement that the transitional law had been agreed by the Iraq Governing Council (IGC) earlier this morning. The IGC was due to hold a press conference this afternoon and would release the text of the agreement later in the week following the conclusion of an important Shia festival and after some loose ends had been tidied up. What was important about the transitional law was that it would safeguard the fundamental rights of the Iraqi people until direct elections were held for a new representative government. As such, it was a significant foundation stone in building a new Iraq. The law enshrined basic rights for all Iraqis - freedom of religion, freedom of expression and a free and independent judiciary. It went without saying that these were rights and laws not enjoyed under Saddam Hussein.
Clare Short
Asked if any consideration was being given to removing Privy Counsellor status from Clare Short, the PMOS said that the latest position on this matter had been set out in the Cabinet Secretary’s letter to Ms Short, which she had publicised yesterday. He had nothing further to add other than the fact that the letter had been initiated by the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull, himself, and that the Prime Minister had been aware of it and had approved of it being sent. Asked if Privy Counsellorship was a privilege which could be removed if required, the PMOS referred journalists to the Cabinet Office for a more detailed exposition about the position of Privy Counsellors. Asked if membership of the Privy Council was a matter for the Prime Minister, the PMOS said that he wasn’t an expert on the processes of the Privy Council. He repeated that the position had been set out in the Cabinet Secretary’s letter. Additional questions should be addressed to the Cabinet Office.
Asked if he was indicating that this was the end of the matter, the PMOS said that Ms Short had chosen to publish Sir Andrew Turnbull’s letter yesterday. The Cabinet Secretary’s words spoke for themselves. Put to him that the matter could not be laid to rest until it was known if it was up to Downing Street, the Cabinet Office or Buckingham Palace to make the final decision as to whether to remove Clare Short’s Privy Counsellorship, the PMOS said that the position remained as set out in the Cabinet Secretary’s letter. The question was hypothetical and it would therefore not be helpful to engage in a discussion about it at this time. He underlined that decisions would not be taken as a result of what people said in television interviews. Sir Andrew Turnbull had sent his letter to Ms Short. That was the current position. Asked if the position was likely to change today, the PMOS said not as far as he was aware.
Put to him repeatedly that things had moved on since the letter because she had given interviews despite being warned by the Cabinet Secretary not to do so, the PMOS said that he had set out the position as it was at the moment. He had nothing further to add. Asked if the letter had been written on the understanding that it would remain confidential, the PMOS said yes. Questioned as to whether Sir Andrew Turnbull was intending to write again to Ms Short, the PMOS said that that was entirely a matter for the Cabinet Secretary. Put to him that Ms Short had ‘cocked a snook’ at the authority of Sir Andrew and that something should be done about it, the PMOS said that the authority of the Cabinet Secretary rested upon the fact that he acted in accordance with proper procedure. That was precisely what Sir Andrew had done - and with the full approval of the Prime Minister. In answer to further questions about the letter, the PMOS said that one of Sir Andrew’s duties was to inform and remind Ministers - and ex-Ministers - of the Ministerial Code. That was exactly what he had done. Asked if the Cabinet Secretary had any other powers other than to write and remind ex-Ministers of their obligations under the Ministerial Code, the PMOS said that he had set out the position. He had no intention of getting drawn into a speculative discussion about other matters. Put to him that Ms Short had responded, in terms, to the letter and that the ball was now in Downing Street and the Cabinet Secretary’s court, the PMOS said it was a fact of life that Ms Short had chosen to publicise the Cabinet Secretary’s letter. More broadly, it was important for people to recognise that the argument had not changed between this time last week and today. Those who had opposed the war in Iraq were still opposed to it. What had changed, however, was the reality on the ground where slowly, bit by bit, the foundation stones were being put in place to rebuild Iraq. That was what mattered, not some of the headlines over the past few days. The reality was that Iraq, for the first time in over three decades, was getting a democracy. That might not be of interest to some people here. However, in the longer term, that was what was far more important. Put to him that the Prime Minister had been moved to say last week that the safety of British intelligence officers had been put at risk and that the situation could not be allowed to continue - and yet it had, through Ms Short’s publication of a confidential letter from the Cabinet Secretary yesterday, the PMOS said that we would not allow the pace to be set by other people. Rather, we would proceed in a way that was more appropriate for the long term. Asked if he was indicating that Downing Street was not ruling out the possibility of Ms Short’s Privy Counsellor status being removed, the PMOS said that he wasn’t indicating anything. The position remained as had been set out.
Asked if the Prime Minister or any Downing Street official had spoken to Clare Short in the last twenty-four hours, the PMOS said not as far as he was aware. Asked if the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary had met today to discuss what the next steps should be in the light of the weekend’s events, the PMOS said that it wasn’t our policy to brief on private meetings. That said, journalists could safely assume that that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary remained in regular contact, as you would expect.
Asked the Prime Minister’s reaction to Ms Short’s allegation that the Attorney General had been leant upon, the PMOS said that the Attorney General had given his advice in private, as successive Attorney Generals in previous Administrations had done, because of the need to be able to do so as frankly and freely as possible. That was why the convention existed. Put to him that the convention had already been broken because an extract of the Attorney General’s advice had already been published, the PMOS pointed out that a summary of the Attorney General’s conclusions had been published, not an extract. Pressed as to whether the Attorney General had been leant upon to change his mind, as Ms Short had suggested, the PMOS said that Ms Short was of course free to make whatever allegations she liked. In the same way, we were free to state the position as it was. Questioned as to whether the Attorney General had changed his advice, the PMOS said that the Attorney General had given his advice, the conclusions of which had been reported. Asked if the Butler Inquiry’s remit should be extended to include an examination of the Attorney General’s advice, the PMOS said that what the Butler Inquiry investigated was a matter for them, not for him.
Asked for clarification regarding the documents which Ms Short might have seen following an apparent backtrack in her Dimbleby interview yesterday, the PMOS said that he was not Ms Short’s spokesman. However, while he recognised the characterisation of her interview yesterday, he would not be drawn into a commentary about what she might or might not have seen.
Asked if Downing Street was concerned that co-operation between the British security services and their international counterparts would decline if Privy Counsellors were unable to control themselves and no action was taken against them, the PMOS said that the world-wide reputation of our security services was well known and highly respected. We had every confidence that that would continue to be the case. The normal conventions between Ministers and the security services would continue.
Middle East
Asked the purpose of the Prime Minister’s meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan tomorrow, the PMOS said that the two leaders met regularly to update each other on their perspectives of what was happening in the Middle East, both broadly and more narrowly in terms of the Israeli/Palestinian situation.
Asked the Prime Minister’s view about the wall that Israel was building, the PMOS said that his view on this matter had not changed. The answer to the Israeli/Palestinian question was to make political progress and address the real security concerns. That was the balance which had to be to achieved. Asked if building a wall could be considered to be making political progress, the PMOS said we believed that measures should be taken in a way which re-enforced the prospects for political progress. Equally, we believed that security concerns had to be met.
PM Parklife
Asked to confirm reports at the weekend that the Prime Minister had slept on a bench in his gap year when he had first come to London, the PMOS said that the Press Office had been taking bets this morning as to which journalist would ask about this story today. We had confirmed yesterday that the Prime Minister had slept on a bench for one night. Which bench that might have been, whether it had been preserved for historical interest or whether a plaque would be attached to it, he didn’t know. Nor did he know, before anybody asked, what the Prime Minister might have had to eat while inhabiting the bench.
MMR
Asked for a reaction to reports that Leo Blair had been given the MMR jab after the Prime Minister and Mrs Blair had come under pressure to say whether he had had it or not, the PMOS said that our position on this issue was well known. It had not changed.
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