Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Oil Prices, PM, Iraq and Pensions.
Oil Prices
Asked to confirm the report in today’s Times suggesting that troops could be used to protect fuel supplies in the event of protests against oil prices, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that contingency plans had been drawn up for all sorts of things. It wasn’t our policy to brief on them unless we had to use them. At the moment, the possibility of future fuel protests was purely hypothetical. Put to him that the publication today of contingency plans to evacuate London in the event of a disaster showed that we did in fact brief on contingency plans, the PMOS congratulated journalists on their observation skills but said that said he was simply making the point that it was sensible not to talk about contingency plans in certain areas because it could lead to unhelpful speculation.
Asked if the Government was concerned about the rise in oil prices, the PMOS said that the position had been made clear by both the Prime Minister and the Treasury. We acknowledged the current short term volatility. However, we believed that the medium to long term picture was relatively stable.
Prime Minister
Asked if he would agree that the Prime Minister was creating his own ’spin-cycle’ following his interview with the Independent today in which he had said he wouldn’t stand down and his indication to Guardian journalists recently that he would stand down if he became an electoral liability, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had answered questions about this matter in his constituency this morning. What he had said was what he believed - that the speculation was complete froth. Local people had told him that they wanted to see him getting on with the job. That was precisely what he was doing.
Iraq
Asked if the Prime Minister believed that there should be changes in personnel at the Daily Mirror, the PMOS said that that was entirely a matter for the newspaper concerned and its proprietors. Asked if the issue would be referred to the PCC, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any such proposal.
Asked if Adam Ingram had been referring to serving soldiers or Mirror staff when talking about the possibility of criminal proceedings yesterday, the PMOS said he had no intention of commenting on the ongoing investigation and what its conclusions might be. It was a matter for the SIB. Put to him that the Government could release the evidence it had that the pictures were not genuine without prejudicing any trial because courts martial did not have a jury, the PMOS said that, without pre-empting the conclusions of the investigation, he would point out that despite the fact that no jury trials had worked under Diplock courts in Northern Ireland, for example, no evidence was ever produced in public there either for very good evidential reasons. Asked if that explained why the lorry in the pictures would not be produced for the media today, the PMOS said that as he had told journalists yesterday morning, the needs of the inquiry and the constraints of possible legal proceedings had to take precedence over everything else, despite our desire for clarity. Asked if the Mirror would be shown the evidence if it put in such a request, the PMOS said that any judgement would have to be made against the criteria he had already set out.
Asked if the investigation had been completed yet, the PMOS said no. As Adam Ingram had told the Commons yesterday, the inquiry was still ongoing. Questioned as to when it might conclude, the PMOS said that obviously we would want to it be completed as quickly as possible so that we could provide clarity. However, we had to respect the investigative process, just like everyone else. It would take as long as it takes.
Pensions
Asked if the Prime Minister was happy with the amendments to the Pensions Bill being put forward today, the PMOS said that this was the result of a lot of hard work carried out by DWP, the Treasury and Downing Street. It had led to a package which would go some way towards addressing the issues facing people who had lost their pensions when their firms had gone bankrupt. Today’s announcement was clearly very welcome news.
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