Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Corus, Northern Ireland, PM’s Moscow Visit, Armed Forces and Euro.
Corus
Asked to set out the contacts the Government had had with Corus recently, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that he had no intention of providing a running commentary on meetings that might or might not have taken place. We regretted today’s announcement regarding job losses, but it was ultimately a matter for the company. The DTI was liasing with Corus, the Unions, other Government Departments, individual Regional Development Agencies and the devolved administrations in order to ensure that those affected would be given help to find new work. Asked if Downing Street would have expected Corus to have kept Ministers informed about the company’s circumstances, the PMOS said that given the DTI was liasing with Corus as he had already explained, it was clear that contact was being maintained. The purpose was to discuss how to ameliorate the impact of the job losses announced today.
Asked for a reaction to Union suggestions that today’s announcement highlighted once again Corus’s failure to engage in worker-management consultation and whether Downing Street would agree that it was time to introduce legislation to force companies to consult their employees, the PMOS said that, in the end, the decisions which had been taken were a matter for Corus. However, we were continuing to work with the company and the Unions to encourage the new management team to work in partnership with their employees and Unions to ensure a positive future given the fact the fact that Corus continued to employ over 20,000 workers and was still therefore a major manufacturing company in the UK.
Nothern Ireland
Questioned as to whether the Northern Ireland elections would be held on 29 May, the PMOS said that date remained in the diary. Contacts were continuing to take place today on a number of different levels between the British and Irish Governments and the parties. It was very possible that those contacts would carry on tomorrow. We were continuing to work for a clear answer to the third question which the Prime Minister had put to the IRA. Asked if tomorrow was effectively a deadline for the IRA to provide that answer, the PMOS said that we were deliberately not getting drawn into discussion about deadlines. Everyone knew that time was short because of the forthcoming elections. However, as we had said many times in the past, it was important to get the substance right first and then fit the timetables and mechanics around it. Asked whether the Prime Minister was planning to meet any of the key players in the process over the next few days, the PMOS said he recognised that we were going through a particular phase which was very frustrating for the media. However we remained firmly of the view that it was better to continue the contacts behind the scenes rather than give a blow-by-blow commentary as meetings took place and statements were made.
PM’s Moscow Visit
Asked what the Prime Minister was hoping to achieve by visiting Moscow today, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister and President Putin would take the opportunity to review the situation following the end of the Iraq conflict. No doubt they would also discuss ways to deal with the subsequent humanitarian and reconstruction issues, as well as attempt to repair the diplomatic strains which had developed over the last few months, although the Prime Minister and President continued to enjoy a very good working relationship. They would also use the visit to discuss how to develop a world system in which Europe, Russia and the US could work in partnership with one another and avoid future confrontations. One example where that was already happening was the Middle East ‘road map’ which had been produced by the Quartet of the EU, Russia, the UN and US - not, as the BBC had said mistakenly this morning, solely by the US and UK. Asked the Prime Minister’s reaction to the US’s decision to ignore Europe, the PMOS said that partnership was a two-way process. If he was being asked about international relations prior to the military conflict in Iraq, it was important to recognise that Europe had not spoken with one voice or been uniformly hostile to the idea of partnership. Post-conflict, countries were coming round to the idea that partnership was the way forward.
Asked if the Prime Ministerwas going to Moscow for a specific purpose, the PMOS said that today would be more about having a general discussion than about any one thing in particular. The talks would focus on the way forward post-conflict, humanitarian and reconstruction issues and the transference of authority to the Iraqis themselves as quickly as possible. There wasn’t that much difference in principle between the UK and Russia in that regard, but there was a lot of detail in terms of practicalities and the like to discuss. Asked to explain why the Prime Minister considered today’s visit to be important, the PMOS said no one was pretending that there hadn’t been serious international strains and stresses in the run up to the conflict. The Prime Minister valued his relationship with President Putin and held him in high regard both personally and as a political leader. He therefore believed it was worth spending time with him to talk through these wider strategic issues.
Armed Forces
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister would accede to the Chief-of-the-Defence Staff’s (CDS) suggestion and give the armed forces two years off before launching another conflict, the PMOS said that he thought this was a classic case of defence corespondents going into a briefing determined to come out with a story and, surprise, surprise, actually doing so. It was important to keep the CDS’s comments in the context in which he had made them. Everyone accepted that our armed forces were not limitless in what they could do. The commitment to Iraq had been very heavy, but they had performed superbly. Of course it would be good to give them a bit of breathing space afterwards - and, unless there was compelling reason, to give them that breathing space uninterrupted. However, as the CDS himself had underlined, if there was compelling reason, then obviously the armed forces would be ready to do their duty.
Euro
Asked if the Prime Minister had read an advance copy of Peter Mandelson’s speech on the Euro to the London Chamber of Commerce on his way to Moscow this morning, the PMOS said that he didn’t know whether the Prime Minister had a copy of the speech in his possession - and if he had, whether he had read it on the plane to Moscow. As Mr Mandelson himself had pointed out, it was important to recognise that he was not making his speech on behalf of the Prime Minister. Asked when the Cabinet would discuss the issue of the Euro, the PMOS said he was not aware when it would be placed on the Cabinet agenda.
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