Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Iraq.
Iraq
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) updated journalists on where things currently stood in what was obviously a fast-moving, fluid situation. This morning, the Prime Minister had had a meeting with a group of senior ministers to review the current position. He was likely to speak to President Bush at around lunchtime. The Attorney General would be setting out in a Written Statement at around 2.30pm today his view as to why there was a legal basis for the use of force against Iraq, should that be necessary. The Government was not publishing the legal advice per se. This would coincide with the Liberal Democrat debate in the Lords this afternoon on the legality of the use of force in Iraq. The PMOS drew journalists’ attention to the response from the French Foreign Minister today. It was obviously disappointing that, even at this late hour, the French were not prepared to countenance any ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the UK’s Ambassador to the UN, had had a round of contacts with representatives of all the other members of the Security Council. Those contacts were due to continue during the course of the day. Jack Straw would be speaking to some of the P5 foreign ministers, in addition to foreign ministers from other countries on the Security Council during the course of this morning. The Foreign Office had also issued new travel guidance for Kuwait, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which had been published first thing this morning. The Prime Minister would be holding a Cabinet at 4pm today to update colleagues on the diplomatic track. Depending on where we were later this afternoon, it was possible that Jack Straw could make a Statement to the House at around 7pm. The PMOS also took the opportunity to draw journalists’ attention to three documents which had been put out yesterday, and issued again today, following the three-way summit in the Azores between the UK, US and Spain. The documents highlighted the role of the UN in any post-conflict scenario, which was obviously important.
Asked if the Prime Minister was calling a meeting of the Cabinet this afternoon both to signal the end of the diplomatic track and to ask for the support of his Ministers in launching a military campaign, the PMOS cautioned journalists against getting too far ahead of themselves at this point. It was important to be patient and wait and see what the position was this afternoon. He pointed out that it was still early morning in New York and Sir Jeremy Greenstock had yet to engage in a further round of contacts. It was probably fair to say that hopes of finding consensus and achieving a diplomatic breakthrough had been slight and, in the light of what people had been saying this morning, were receding still further. Nevertheless, we were still trying. Although there had been no discernible change in the position adopted by some other countries, we had not yet taken the judgement that diplomacy was over. Put to him that the fact that Cabinet was taking place at 4pm (11am EST) was a signal that we had pretty much given up any hope of anything being worked out in New York, the PMOS repeated that the prospects of achieving a diplomatic breakthrough were receding. Events today underlined that judgements would have to be reached as to whether we had come to the end of the diplomatic road. Everyone understood that judgement was going to happen sooner rather than later. However, that decision had not yet finally been taken. Contacts were still going on at the UN and Mr Straw was still speaking to some of his opposite numbers abroad.
Asked whether Sir Jeremy Greenstock would continue his conversations with Security Council representatives after the Prime Minister’s phonecall with President Bush later today, the PMOS said it was clear that we were in the diplomatic endgame. Nevertheless, even in this final hour, we were continuing to try to find consensus at the UN. That said, it was important not to overlook the central point in this case. There was a clear dividing line which was causing the impasse. On one side were those countries who were prepared to stand by Resolution 1441 and believed that ’serious consequences’ meant just that should Saddam ignore the final opportunity being presented to him and refuse to comply and co-operate fully and immediately, as he was required to do under the terms of the Resolution. On the other side were those countries who, it would appear, did not wish to stand by 1441, despite signing up to it last November, and wanted to walk away. Since the publication of the ‘clusters’ document, Iraqi co-operation had slowed even further.
Asked whether Jack Straw would speak to his French counterpart today as part of his round of contacts with members of the P5, the PMOS said that Mr Straw would be speaking to those countries people would expect him to be speaking to. Asked whether the Prime Minister was intending to speak to President Chirac today, the PMOS said no.
Asked whether the Prime Minister would open the debate tomorrow if it were to go ahead, the PMOS said that it was important for people to take things one stage at a time. Obviously, should the need arise to change the business in the House, it could be done fairly easily. However, we were not at that point yet. Questioned further, the PMOS said that it was important to wait for the diplomatic process to conclude and resolve itself one way or the other. We did not expect it to be long in coming. We also had to wait for Cabinet. Only then could judgements be taken. Should the business of the House have to change, then obviously that could be announced in fairly short order and timetabled accordingly. Asked if it remained the Government’s intention to hold a vote before military action was taken, the PMOS said yes - with the usual caveat that the Prime Minister had given on a number of occasions in the past.
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister was planning to make a televised broadcast to the general public once military action was launched or whether people would hear about it first from President Bush, the PMOS again asked journalists to exercise a little patience and take things one stage at a time. Asked whether the Prime Minister was intending to make a televised broadcast today, the PMOS said that he wouldn’t encourage people down that route.
Asked whether Jack Straw was planning to fly to New York to join other Foreign Ministers at the UN tomorrow, the PMOS said that given this was clearly a diplomatic crisis of very serious proportions, the central issue was whether there was anything approaching a consensus which could be discussed. A situation in which a permanent member of the Security Council had declared that it would not accept any Resolution which authorised the use of force or which presented any ultimatum to Saddam, was obviously very difficult to address. Essentially, it was sending a strong message to Saddam that although we recognised that he would only respond to the threat of force, that threat was in fact meaningless because we were not prepared to use it. If people were serious about dealing with dictators who flouted the will of the international community, if they were serious about achieving disarmament of WMD and if they were serious about protecting global security, then the threat of force in the event of non-compliance had to be real, not empty. We were still talking to our intentional partners today. The diplomatic track had not yet concluded. However, people should not be misled into thinking that any common ground was emerging because it wasn’t.
Asked if the Prime Minister was intending to meet with, or speak to, Clare Short and Robin Cook today before Cabinet, the PMOS reiterated the fact that it was important to take things one step at a time given we were in a fast-moving, fluid situation. Questioned as to whether Ms Short and Mr Cook had been among the group of senior Ministers who had met the Prime Minister this morning, the PMOS said no. The cast-list had included the Deputy Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary. Asked if Ms Short remained the Prime Minister’s preferred choice to lead any humanitarian effort in a post-war Iraq, the PMOS repeated that it was important for people to take these issues one stage at a time.
Asked if the Prime Minister was still intending to attend the European Council in Brussels at the end of the week if military action was launched against Iraq, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was planning to be in Brussels for the Summit.
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister and President Bush would use heir phonecall to make a final decision as to whether the diplomatic process had run its course, the PMOS said that the phonecall would clearly help inform the judgement that had to be made. He reminded journalists, however, that the UN would not be up and running until later in the day given the time difference between London and New York and it was therefore important not to jump ahead of the process. Asked how things at the UN would be announced to show the end of the diplomatic track, the PMOS acknowledged that a process would have to be undertaken which would signal that the current course of action had concluded one way or the other.
Asked if the Attorney General believed that there was a legal basis for the use of force without a second Resolution, the PMOS pointed out that the Prime Minister would not have said what he had said on the floor of the House at PMQs last week unless it had been based on advice he had received from Government Law Officers, so yes.
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