Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: War on Terror, Phonecalls, Iraq and North Korea.
War on Terror
Asked what John Reid was ‘up to’ and to clarify his remarks today about the status of the terrorist threat to the UK, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that Mr Reid had explained the context of his comments in radio interviews this afternoon. It was important for people to keep things in perspective. He had been answering a question about whether the security measures we had put in place over the last day or so were some sort of Iraq-related PR stunt. Not unreasonably, he had pointed out that that was not the case, that we were dealing with issues of the magnitude of international terrorism and talking about threats which had, for example, caused September 11. People should not over-interpret or elide what he had said in the first instance.
Questioned as to whether John Reid had been trying to make the general point that the threat to public safety was as great as it was at the time of September 11, the PMOS repeated that Mr Reid had been responding to the offensive suggestion that the security measures that had been taken had been ‘got up’ by the Government and by the security services. In answer to further questions, the PMOS said that this wasn’t a movie. The army were not extras on a film-set. This was real life. They were there to protect our safety and security. The decision to deploy them had been taken with that end solely in mind. Journalists could say what they liked about the Prime Minister and think what they liked about the Government. However, no one should doubt their motives about an issue as important as this. In terms of the current security situation, we had acknowledged that there was a heightened threat. As a result, there had been an increase in security in parts of the Capital. As we had said, the threat level would always rise and fall at different times - which meant that the security level would go up and down in parallel. However, it was important to recognise overall that, post-September 11, the threat to us from international terrorism was real and remained present and we would deal with it in whatever way we considered to be most appropriate. Mr Reid had simply been illustrating that point today.
Phonecalls
Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken to President Bush yesterday in the light of reports from the US that he had, the PMOS said that we were not briefing on conversations which the Prime Minister might have had with other leaders. Put to him that we usually did so, the PMOS said that sometimes we did and sometimes we didn’t. Pressed as to why he was refusing to brief on yesterday’s conversations, the PMOS said that there was no sinister reason. It was more a case of the disputes being public while diplomacy was going on behind the scenes at the moment. We had to make judgements as to whether to it would be useful to brief on different calls the Prime Minister made. Asked if it was to make up after their falling out at the White House, the PMOS said that was nonsense.
Iraq
Asked to clarify the Prime Minister’s comment during PMQs today that there would be more time to establish whether Saddam was co-operating with the inspectors, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had been underlining the point that the Security Council’s judgement as to whether Saddam was co-operating or not had to be based on reports from UNMOVIC and the IAEA. If he wasn’t co-operating, it could not simply be a question of saying that the process should be given more time because that clearly would not fulfil our objective of disarmament. Ultimately, however, it was important to wait for Hans Blix’s report to the Security Council on Friday.
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister remained confident of attaining a second UN Resolution, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister’s view on this matter had not changed. A second Resolution would be desirable and preferable. He remained confident that there would be one should the weapons inspectors report a continuing lack of co-operation by the Iraqi regime. Asked if the Prime Minister’s stance on a further Resolution was the result of his optimism or if it was because he had done his sums, the PMOS said that it was based on the logic of the process in which we were engaged. We believed Resolution 1441 had integrity and it was the route map which the international community was following. It was therefore logical to assume that if Iraq was in material breach - through Saddam’s false declaration and non-co-operation - then serious consequences would follow, as 1441 dictated, and that would be reflected by the UN. Otherwise it could be argued that the will of the UN meant nothing.
Put to him that he seemed to be arguing that France, Germany and Belgium were acting illogically, the PMOS said it was clear that the three countries in question had a particular view regarding proposals for prudent planning to help Turkish security given Turkey shared a border with Iraq. They believed it increased the likelihood of war with Iraq. We disputed that view. The situation at the UN was obviously not comparable as the membership was different. We had to be patient. He was not taking any country’s position for granted. We acknowledged that we were not on exactly the same page as other countries in certain areas. However, there was a continuing conversation going on amongst the international community and it was important to allow the different views to emerge. He was simply making the point that the Prime Minister was confident of the logical conclusion to the process should certain things happen. Asked if the Prime Minister remained confident that a second Resolution could explicitly authorise military action against Iraq, the PMOS cautioned journalists against getting too ahead of themselves. People should be patient and wait for Hans Blix’s report on Friday. They might want to write the next chapter, but the current one had yet to conclude.
North Korea
Asked the Prime Minister’s reaction to the IAEA’s declaration this afternoon that North Korea was in material breach, the PMOS said that he hadn’t spoken to the Prime Minister about it since he was currently involved in meetings in Northern Ireland. That said, his view on North Korea was well known. We had already made it clear that the situation was a cause for great concern. In our opinion, North Korea had to comply with its international obligations in a visible and verifiable manner. The IAEA had announced today that North Korea’s refusal to do so was being reported to the UN Security Council. We welcomed the opportunity for the matter to be discussed in that forum.
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