Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Prisoners’ Voting Rights, Immigration and Lockerbie.
Prisoners’ Voting Rights
Asked the Prime Minister’s reaction to an ECHR ruling today that murderers held in prison should be allowed to vote in elections, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that we would consider the detail of today’s judgement. However, it had been the view of successive Governments that prisoners convicted of a crime serious enough to warrant imprisonment had lost the moral authority to vote. That remained our position. Asked to explain why prisoners had lost the moral authority to vote, the PMOS said that they had carried out criminal activities which had been judged to be sufficiently serious by a court to warrant imprisonment. That judgment related to how society viewed these matters. Asked if the Government would appeal against the decision, the PMOS said that we would take time to consider the detail of the judgment before announcing what we were going to do.
Immigration
Questioned about the Opposition Leader’s comments on immigration during his exchange with the Prime Minister in PMQs today, the PMOS said that as a Civil Servant he was unable to comment on party political matters. The Prime Minister had simply been making the point that it was important to discuss the issue of immigration rationally and calmly.
Asked if the Prime Minister’s concern about serious allegations of fraud related to serious allegations about what had gone wrong in the immigration service or the fact that information had reportedly not been passed on to Ministers, the PMOS said that allegations of fraud, on their own, were a serious matter. That was why Ken Sutton was investigating the issue. We had no intention of rushing to judgment until the facts had been established. Asked if Mr Sutton would pass on his findings to the police if fraud were to be proven, the PMOS pointed out that these matters were already being investigated by NCIS.
Questioned as to when Mr Sutton would publish his report, the PMOS said that it was more important to take the time to establish the facts correctly and reach the right judgement than to impose artificial deadlines. While the Prime Minister had said that we wanted to address the mater urgently, we also wanted a clear view of the facts. Asked if Beverley Hughes had been wrong to say that she wanted the inquiry to have concluded by the end of March, the PMOS said no. She had simply been making the point that the matter needed to be addressed urgently. As the Prime Minister had made clear, Ken Sutton had been asked to head the inquiry because he was familiar with this particular field.
Lockerbie
Asked when the Prime Minister would meet the families of the Lockerbie victims, the PMOS said that a meeting would be arranged once a mutually suitable date had been identified. It was unlikely to take place before Easter. He added that the Prime Minister had last met the families in December 1998.
delicious
digg
facebook
