Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Putin and Stephen Byers/Rail.
Putin
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) advised journalists that the Prime Minister had had a fifteen-minute phonecall with President Putin at lunchtime today. It followed the Prime Minister’s conversation with President Bush last night in which both leaders had agreed that they should pursue contacts with international partners on the situation in India, Pakistan and Kashmir.
Today, the Prime Minister and President Putin had both agreed on the urgent need for concerted international engagement to help de-escalate the situation and to begin a process of dialogue between both sides. They had also looked ahead to President Bush’s visit to Russia and the NATO/Russia Summit in Rome next Tuesday which the Prime Minister would be attending.
Stephen Byers/Rail
Asked again about the claim made yesterday by representatives from the Paddington Survivors’ Group that Stephen Byers had indicated to them that he would be placing Railtrack into Administration some time before he had made the actual announcement to the House, the PMOS said that the position had not changed since his colleague had answered the same question yesterday. The final decision on Railtrack had been taken on the day on which Mr Byers had announced at the time. In terms of the claim by the Paddington Survivors’ Group, it was clear that there were different recollections of the meeting that had taken place.
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