Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: PM’s Birthday, Foundation Hospitals and Euro.
PM’s Birthday
Asked to confirm reports that President Chirac had sent the Prime Minister six bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild as a birthday present, the Downing Street Spokesman said that we had seen the reports, but nothing had arrived as yet. She pointed out that it would probably take a little time for a case of wine to travel from France to Downing Street. Asked if the Prime Minister liked claret, the Spokesman said that she wasn’t familiar with the Prime Minister’s taste in wine. Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister would be allowed to keep the wine under the regulations governing the presentation of gifts, the Spokesman said that if anything had to be registered, noted or paid for, it would be. It went without saying that all the proper procedures would be followed.
Asked whether the Prime Minister’s birthday party this evening was purely a family affair, the Spokesman said that it would be a private family celebration. Asked whether the Prime Minister’s father-in-law would be attending, the Spokesman repeated that it would be a family occasion. She had no intention of providing a cast list. Asked if the Prime Minister would have a birthday cake, the Spokesman said she had no idea what was on the menu.
Asked if Downing Street staff had sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to the Prime Minister, the Spokesman said she didn’t know. Responding to a plea by journalists to give them ’something’ as they were ‘desperate for colour’, the Spokesman said that while it was clear that the media was treating the Prime Minister’s birthday as an important day, the Prime Minister himself - and indeed his office - were treating today as a normal working day.
Foundation Hospitals
Asked if the Prime Minister had seen an advance copy of the Health Select Committee’s report on foundation hospitals which was due to be published tomorrow to coincide with the debate and vote on the issue, the Spokesman said not as far as she was aware. Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister would make it a point to meet with backbenchers tomorrow to discuss their concerns, the Spokesman pointed out that the Prime Minister usually met with backbenchers on Wednesdays after PMQs. Asked if the Prime Minister had put aside any time to discuss this matter specifically, the Spokesman said not as far as she was aware. Asked if the Prime Minister would be on the frontbench for the start of the debate tomorrow, the Spokesman said she didn’t have the Prime Minister’s diary to hand and therefore could not comment on his plans for tomorrow.
Euro
Asked by the Guardian at what rate the UK would lock into the Euro, the Spokesman said she thought it was time to go.
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