Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Queen’s Speech, Leaks and the Foreign Secretary.
Queen’s Speech
Asked when the Europe Bill would come to Parliament the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that we would announce the timetable for Bills as and when appropriate. As usual it would take a few days to have the normal discussions that went on before we could announce. This was the usual precedent. We would not get drawn into guessing games. It was best that the normal discussions took place through the usual channels in the first instance.
Asked when the ID Cards Bill would come forward the PMOS said that again it would be best for people to wait and see as he did not want to get into giving prognosis’s. All he could do on ID cards was point to the wording in the manifesto, which said words to the effect that it would be dealt with as soon as possible on return. These things had to be discussed properly and he would not pre-empt those discussions.
Asked to clarify what the Government’s intentions were in regard to Lord’s reform the PMOS said that the Queen’s speech and background had set that out and the search was for a consensus. As the Prime Minster had said at his press conference last week that search was difficult but it would continue.
Asked when the Credit Bill came back whether it would be in the same shape as when it went to the Lords the PMOS said that for the detail of that they should go to the department.
Leaks
Asked if there was any leak inquiry into the "extraordinary" number of secret documents leaked to Sunday newspapers during the election campaign that were later found to be genuine, such as the minute of the Crawford Texas meeting and the Attorney General’s advice the PMOS said that we took very seriously the leaking of any document and this kind of document in particular. He had not heard any explanation as to why there were so many leaks, but he had no doubt that there would be the proper inquiries made. As to what form they would be that was a matter for the Cabinet Office.
Foreign Secretary
Asked why the Foreign Secretary was in the United States the PMOS said that he had planned to be in the US to meet with Condoleeza Rice and to give a speech. He had planned to do so before the opposition choose tomorrow as the day for the Foreign Affairs debate. As people would know doubt be aware it was the opposition that choose the order of debates and not the Government.
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