Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Bird Flu, Mr Barroso meeting, Common Agricultural Policy, EU Economy, Earthquake, Early release scheme, Iran-Dr Liam Fox letter and Harold Pinter Nobel Prize
Bird Flu
Asked if bird flu had been discussed at this morning’s Cabinet, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that bird flu had not been discussed. However, since the news from Turkey had broken, DEFRA had given a briefing about it.
Asked to confirm that it was not only animals that were affected by bird flu, the PMOS said that the experts were in DEFRA and in the Department of Health. The PMOS stressed that of course we took this with due seriousness, and a risk assessment would be done, but people had to be clear that the Turkish outbreak was not only relatively confined, but was also bird to bird, rather than bird to human. There had not been any human to human pattern of avian flu in any outbreak. Those were the parameters, but the PMOS said that we had made contingency plans in this country which would continue to be updated, and there were stockpiles of vaccines to deal with this particular strain that would be kept under review. What could not be done at this stage, however, was to prepare for a strain of human to human avian flu, because until the precise makeup of the virus was known, a vaccine was not able to be made. We stood ready to do so, should it be required.
Asked if COBRA was leading any planning in the event of a pandemic, the PMOS said that COBRA was not involved at this stage, but there were contingency plans that had been made.
Asked to clarify that the vaccination that is currently available was for birds only, and not for humans, the PMOS replied that it was for humans. In Turkey, the virus had not gone from birds to humans, whilst in Asia, where it had gone from birds to humans, it had been passed on to people working in poultry farms via bird faeces. We had the vaccinations to deal with that situation, and in Britain, we had a much stricter hygiene control on poultry farms which was precisely aimed at stopping disease.
Asked if there was any evidence of the virus moving from human to human once it had been contracted from the bird, the PMOS said not at this stage.
Asked if there was a vaccine should that happen, the PMOS said we had to guard against that possibility, but it would be a mutation of the original strain and therefore a different kind of virus. The new virus would need to be analysed before a drug to counteract it could be found, otherwise a drug would be developed that was not effective.
Asked why bird flu had not been discussed at Cabinet the PMOS said that at the time Cabinet met, the news from Turkey had not been released.
Asked that until it had actually spread from human to human, it was not possible to develop a vaccine, the PMOS said that was correct. This was because it was not possible to analyse a precise strain of the virus, therefore, a drug could not be developed to counteract that strain. The PMOS explained that it would be a mutation of any strain that went from bird to bird.
Asked how long a vaccine might take to be developed, the PMOS said between four to six months from past experience.
Asked if the Government would undertake that vaccinations were available for people, the PMOS said again that contingency plans were in place, but until there were the precise circumstances, it was difficult to confirm. However, there was a lot of work going into thinking about how we would respond to it.
Mr Barroso meeting
Asked for information on the Prime Minister’s meeting with Mr. Barroso, the PMOS said it was a preparation for the Hampton Court summit, and how we put forward the economic reform agenda which we had discussed with President Chirac, for example, last week in Paris.
Common Agricultural Policy
Asked if the Prime Minister still thought the CAP should be abolished, and did he agree with Peter Mandelson’s comments that "things would look very different in six or seven years’ time", the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had set out his view after the last summit in June, and his view had not changed. What we had to have, however, was a managed process and we again set that out after the last council. Nothing had happened that changed his view.
EU Economy
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with the Chancellor’s comments on the EU economy, the PMOS said the Prime Minister had set out his view of the weaknesses of the European economy and what we had to do to respond to globalisation in the June speech to the EU Parliament. That analysis had been touched upon by what the Chancellor had said. What was important now was to address the issues.
Put to the PMOS that the Chancellor had said that France was in recession, when in fact it had not been in recession since 1993, the PMOS said that the people who were best able to debate the precise meaning of the word "recession" were in the Treasury, as he was not an economist, and they were the experts.
Put to the PMOS that Peter Mandelson thought that getting a deal on the EU budget was very urgent, and had the Government had any chance to work towards an agreement, the PMOS referred people back to what the Prime Minister had said in Paris. The Prime Minister said that we did want to work towards a future financing deal, but it would be at the December budget, rather than at the informal summit at Hampton Court which was looking at the broader issue of how we responded to globalisation. The reality was that the German Government was still being formed, which was one of the factors which would influence the timing. The PMOS said that as for calling the odds on it, he was "too long in the tooth for that"!
Earthquake
Asked if anyone from the British Government was planning a visit to the areas affected by last week’s earthquake, the PMOS said that DFID and the FCO were leading on this. The important point at this stage was that we sent a search and rescue team over to the area immediately, who were able to save nine lives so far. The next important thing was to send supplies of tents, tarpaulins and other equipment across swiftly. A visit would only happen if it was deemed appropriate.
Put to the PMOS that after the tsunami, a special summit of ministers was set up in order to help, and was there going to be something similar set up for the earthquake, the PMOS replied that what was proposed was that the UN developed a special emergency fund and response that was set in place to respond more quickly to these sorts of catastrophes. It was discussed at Cabinet this morning how we could ensure that happened as fast as possible, and that was one of the ideas we had been pushing internationally and there was a resonance for that.
Early release scheme
Asked what the Prime Minister’s view was of the proposal being considered by the Home Office of extending the early release scheme, the PMOS said that Fiona MacTaggart today had stressed that no decision had been taken. She also said that we were not at the point where capacity was fully utilised, and agreed that there was a spike in numbers, but there were other places coming onstream. The PMOS said that this morning’s report had taken us further than the actual situation was at the moment. As Fiona MacTaggart also stressed, community sentence orders did have their place, as did home curfews in a well managed criminal system. They should not be thought of a "soft touch" because they did use unpaid labour, for example. However, the PMOS said again that we were not yet at a point where capacity was fully utilised.
Put to the PMOS that was there not a danger of confusion as the Prime Minister appeared to be tough on crime, versus the Home Office who were "letting thousands of people go", the PMOS replied that what people had to understand was that nobody was saying that judges would decide sentences according to whether there were prison places or not. Secondly, there were a range of sentencing options, and the Prime Minister had been discussing fixed penalty notices, for example, which was not dependent on the prison capacity. Thirdly, community sentence orders had a merit in their own right in that some cases, they were not a soft touch, but that they could lead to faster rehabilitation. The re-offending rate was much lower for people who served that kind of sentence than with other kinds of sentences though we accepted for a wide range of reasons.
Iran-Dr Liam Fox letter
Put to the PMOS that Dr. Fox had sent the Prime Minister a letter regarding clarification of the position of British troops ability to persuade people to attach them in Iran, possibly form over the border in Iraq, the PMOS said he was not aware that the Prime Minister had received the letter, but when he did, he would consider it, and give a considered reply.
Put to the PMOS that the Foreign Secretary on BBC’s "Newsnight" last night suggested that it would be a possibility, the PMOS said that what the troops on the ground had to do was ensure that they had all they needed to protect themselves. The PMOS stressed that people should wait for a considered reply from the Prime Minister.
Harold Pinter Nobel Prize
Asked if the Prime Minister would congratulate Harold Pinter on his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, the PMOS said of course we would congratulate Harold Pinter on the recognition he had received.
Asked if the Prime Minister always invited people into No10 if they had been given awards, the PMOS said it had only just happened, so he was sure it would be recognised in some way.
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