Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Cabinet, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Lords Reform and Asylum.
Cabinet
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister had chaired Cabinet this morning. He had taken the opportunity to brief on Iraq and the Deputy Prime Minister had updated Ministers on the fire dispute. The issue of London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games had also been mentioned in passing.
Zimbabwe
Asked if the British Government would be making any representations to the French Administration regarding their plan to invite Robert Mugabe to a Franco-African summit in Paris next month, the PMOS said that it was important for people to understand the situation. The EU sanctions on members of the Zimbabwean Government, including Mr Mugabe, were due to expire on February 18. We wanted to see them rolled over. That meant the issue would have to be discussed and decided at the meeting of Foreign Ministers in Brussels on Monday, when Jack Straw’s objective would be to secure a continuation of the sanctions. Of course, that would have to be unanimously agreed by the EU. In terms of the Franco-African summit next month, France would have to make a formal application for a waiver to the travel ban, as had been done for other members of the Zimbabwean Government at various stages during the past year. As yet, we had received no formal request from them. Put to him that the summit was due to take place the day after the sanctions expired and that it would therefore be possible for Mr Mugabe to attend if no decision was reached at the meeting on Monday, the PMOS said that under EU rules, there needed to be unanimity if we wanted the sanctions against Zimbabwe to continue. That would be our objective on Monday. He reiterated that France had not yet put in a formal request for an application to waive the travel ban.
Asked if we had been aware of France’s plans - either formally or informally - before yesterday, the PMOS said that discussions were going on the whole time between the British and French Governments at all levels on a variety of different issues. The important point here was that France had not yet put in a formal request. Asked if he was implying that we had been aware informally of France’s intentions, the PMOS said that informal discussions went on about all sorts of things all the time between British and French officials. It was important to recognise, however, that France had not yet put in a formal request. Asked if we had been aware of the invitation to Mr Mugabe at the time we had expressed our views regarding the England cricket team’s trip to Zimbabwe, the PMOS said that deciding whether to issue an invitation to Mr Mugabe for a Franco-African summit was entirely a matter for the French Government. Asked if he would agree that there was a strong ‘whiff’ of double standards, the PMOS said no. Our position on sanctions remained absolutely clear and consistent. We continued to believe that the sanctions should be renewed.
Questioned as to whether Clare Short and Peter Hain had been speaking on behalf of the Government when they had underlined that Mr Mugabe should not be allowed to attend the summit, the PMOS said that the two Ministers had been reflecting our clear view on sanctions and Mr Mugabe. However, it was important for people to be patient and wait for the meeting of Foreign Ministers on Monday. Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with Clare Short’s assessment of France’s invitation to Mr Mugabe as ‘disgraceful’, the PMOS said that the collective view of the Government in terms of sanctions against Mr Mugabe and his regime was clear and remained on the record.
Asked if he recognised today’s Guardian report alleging that diplomatic sources in Harare had said that the British Government had agreed to allow Mr Mugabe to attend the summit if France agreed not to oppose the renewal of EU sanctions on Monday, the PMOS underlined the importance of letting the process take its course. People had to exercise a little patience. France had not yet submitted a formal application. If/when it did, we would deal with the issue then. Asked what motives he thought might lie behind France’s plan and whether he thought they were being ‘mischievous’, the PMOS said that it was not his job to speculate on the motives of other Governments.
Asked why the Prime Minister had been unable to state categorically that the Government disagreed with the idea of allowing Mr Mugabe to travel to Paris for the summit, the PMOS repeated that our view on sanctions was very clear. Jack Straw’s objective on Monday was to get them renewed unanimously. Put to him that he seemed to be suggesting that there were certain circumstances under which it would be perfectly acceptable for Mr Mugabe to be allowed to travel, the PMOS said that we were focussing our attention on achieving unanimity at Monday’s meeting in Brussels in order to renew the sanctions against Zimbabwe. It was important for people to recognise that an invitation to Mr Mugabe to attend a Franco-African summit was a matter for the French Government. Moreover, France had not yet applied for a waiver to the travel ban. These were all hypothetical questions requiring hypothetical answers. In our view, it would not be helpful to go down that route.
Questioned as to whether France’s application for an exemption could be vetoed by other members of the EU, the PMOS said that as his colleague had pointed out yesterday, a unanimous agreement was needed to waive the travel ban, as indeed had happened on several occasions over the past year. Equally, unanimity was also required to achieve a rollover of the sanctions. Asked whether both issues would be discussed on Monday, the PMOS said that it would depend on whether the French Government had put in a formal application, which they had not yet done. Under the rules, if they wanted a waiver, they had to give EU member states forty-eight hours’ notice. We would have to wait and see how things panned out.
Iraq
Questioned about the discussion on Iraq in Cabinet today, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had reported back on what he had described as a ‘good’ meeting with Hans Blix at Chequers last Friday. He said that the weapons inspectors did not believe that the Iraqi regime was co-operating. Indeed, as Reuters had reported yesterday, Hans Blix had underlined once again that they were refusing to co-operate proactively by allowing scientists to be interviewed in private. The Prime Minister had reiterated that 27 January was not a deadline, although it was clearly an important day. He had also pointed to the increasing pressure being put on Saddam, which he said was having an impact internally. He had also taken the opportunity to look ahead to his meeting with President Bush next week.
Questioned about reports that the US and UK would secure Iraqi oil fields for themselves if military action was taken against Iraq, the PMOS said that Colin Powell had indicated yesterday that the profits from the oil fields should be used to benefit the Iraqi people. As the Prime Minister had pointed out in the past, $3bn-worth of oil was currently being siphoned off to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD). That had to change. We wanted to see the revenue benefiting the Iraqi people. There were also environmental concerns to be taken into account. Questioned further, the PMOS said that discussion about Iraqi fields was premature and hypothetical since a military campaign had not yet been launched against Iraq.
Asked if the Government supported France and Germany’s suggestion for a further report from the weapons inspectors in another month, the PMOS said that it was important to wait for inspectors’ report on Monday. We were being driven by the views of UNMOVIC, not just in terms of what they found in Iraq but whether Iraq was helping the inspections process in a proactive way. Put to him that the inspectors appeared to be contradicting themselves by saying that, on the one hand, they wanted the Iraqi regime to co-operate proactively but that, on the other, they needed more time to do their work, the PMOS said that while the inspectors had provided us with interesting soundbites, doorsteps and interviews over the past few weeks, Monday would give them an opportunity to put forward a coherent report to the UN which would set out their comprehensive, rounded view of the situation. That was why we needed to be patient and judge the report in the round once it was presented.
Asked if the Cabinet had discussed the stance adopted by France and Germany in relation to securing a second UN Resolution on military action in Iraq, the PMOS said no. Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister was intending to speak to President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder over the next few days, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any plans for him to do so at this stage.
Lords Reform
Asked if the Prime Minister had expressed an opinion about the membership of a newly reformed House of Lords, in the light of conflicting views expressed by the Leader of the House and the Lord Chancellor, the PMOS said that the issue was being put to a free vote. The Prime Minister would set out his personal view in due course.
Asylum
Asked if the Prime Minister believed it had been helpful for David Blunkett to describe the UK as a ‘coiled spring’ in relation to the issue of asylum seekers, the PMOS said that it was only right both to point out that there were genuine concerns about this issue, as the Prime Minister had acknowledged in PMQs yesterday, and equally that there was a need to set out rationally the measures we were taking in response to those concerns, as indeed both he and the Home Secretary had been doing.
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