Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Clare Short and Euro.
Clare Short
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) briefed journalists on Clare Short’s resignation this morning. He said that Ms Short had spoken to the Prime Minister just after 10am and had then announced her resignation from the Cabinet. A short while later, we had announced the appointment of Baroness Amos as the new International Development Secretary after the Prime Minister had seen her. We were not expecting any further ministerial appointments to be announced today.
In answer to questions, the PMOS said it was no understatement to say that the Department for International Development (DfID) enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest - if not the finest - aid departments of any government anywhere in the world. That, in no small measure, was due to the energy and commitment of Ms Short and the contribution she had made since 1997. The Prime Minister was very grateful for all that she had done. The PMOS pointed out that by the end of the spending review in 2005/6, there would have been a 93% real terms increase in the aid budget since 1997. We had also written off 100% of the debt owed to us by the world’s most heavily indebted poor countries. In addition, we had responded, and continued to respond, rapidly and flexibly to humanitarian disasters. We were also leading the way in making trade fairer for developing countries, although there was clearly more work that needed to be done in that area.
In respect of Baroness Amos, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was enormously impressed with her work since coming into Government. She had had a particular responsibility for Africa and had accompanied the Prime Minister last February when he had visited Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal. She had also accompanied him on his trip to Mozambique towards the end of last year. She had played a key role in driving forward NEPAD, the partnership between the developed and developing African world. Within a relatively short period of time, she had developed a very strong reputation as a very strong Minister. The Prime Minister believed that she was an excellent replacement in what was clearly a key governmental post.
Asked for the Prime Minister’s reaction to Clare Short’s resignation letter this morning in which she had effectively accused him of conning her about the involvement of the UN in a post-conflict Iraq, the PMOS said that it was important to be clear about the history relating to the Iraq and the UN. He did not think it was overstating it to say that the Prime Minister had played a very important role in taking this issue to the UN in the first instance. Unfortunately, for reasons which had been well documented at the time, we had not been able to secure the so-called second Resolution. Nevertheless, Ms Short had accepted at the time that military action was both legal and indeed necessary. He added that he was not aware of any assurance given by the Prime Minister which hadn’t been kept. He referred journalists to the joint statement issued by the Prime Minister and President Bush at Hillsborough on 8 April in which both had underlined that, "As the Coalition proceeds with the reconstruction of Iraq, it will work with its allies, bilateral donors and with the United Nations and other international institutions. The United Nations has a vital role to play in the reconstruction of Iraq". The draft Resolution, which had been tabled at the UN at the end of last week, reiterated this point. The Resolution talked about the importance of a UN Special Co-ordinator and the lifting of sanctions. It also envisaged a political process to put the country into the hands of the Iraqi people, with the involvement of the Special Co-ordinator. As the Prime Minister had underlined many times in the past, we had never talked about the Coalition being subservient to the UN, nor the UN being subservient to the Coalition. Rather, we had talked about a partnership. The Prime Minister had told Cabinet last Thursday that if people addressed these issues in a constructive way - as indeed he believed they were doing - then it should be perfectly possible to navigate a way through some of these diplomatic issues to everyone’s satisfaction. The Foreign Secretary was making a Statement to the House later this afternoon on Iraq, which had been planned before this morning’s resignation. No doubt he would take the opportunity to spell this point out further.
Asked if the Prime Minister and Ms Short had discussed these issues prior to her failure to vote last Wednesday and her non-attendance at Cabinet last Thursday, the PMOS said no but pointed out that post-conflict issues would obviously have been discussed at the Ministerial meetings on Iraq which the Prime Minister had been chairing. He repeated that he was not aware of any assurances which had not been kept. Put to him that the Attorney General’s advice had stated that the occupying power was not allowed to reorganise the political governance of Iraq - which was what the draft Resolution appeared to be suggesting should be done, the PMOS said that under the Hague Convention and other international treaties, the Coalition had obligations to fulfil on the ground. Together with the US, we were seeking to put in place a political process - in the first instance an interim authority, but ultimately a representative government. It was therefore a question of the different bodies working in partnership to achieve those ends. As we had underlined from the outset, if people remained focussed on the end game - an Iraq run by, and for, the Iraqi people themselves - it should be possible to deal with what could be described as ‘inter-agency issues’. The PMOS took the opportunity to remind journalists that the Prime Minister had met the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, at Athens recently. No press conference had gone by when he hadn’t spoken about the importance of the UN.
Questioned as to whether this morning’s phonecall had been the first contact between the Prime Minister and Ms Short in recent days, the PMOS yes. Asked about the length of the telephone conversation, the PMOS said that the perfectly cordial conversation had lasted around five minutes. Asked if the Prime Minister had known that Ms Short was going to resign, the PMOS said that the first the Prime Minister had known about this was when he had been told that Ms Short had wanted to speak to him shortly before 10am. Asked if the Prime Minister had made any attempt to persuade her to think again, the PMOS said it had been clear that she had reached her decision - a fact that the Prime Minister had accepted. He had moved to replace her quickly because he had felt that the post of International Development Secretary was too important to be left unfilled. Asked if he had moved to fill the post quickly because Baroness Amos was already ‘in the pipeline’, the PMOS repeated that it was an important post which could not be left unfilled when there were humanitarian issues relating to post-conflict Iraq which had yet to be resolved. After Ms Short had informed the Prime Minister that she was resigning, he had moved to appoint and announce a replacement, as you would expect. Put to him that the fact that Baroness Amos’s appointment had been announced so quickly would seem to indicate that the Prime Minister had given plenty of thought to replacing Clare Short prior to today, the PMOS said that appointments could be made comparatively quickly. Once a resignation was confirmed, the Prime Minister had to make a judgement as to who the replacement should be and then speak to that person so that an announcement could be made. It wasn’t rocket science.
Asked if the Prime Minister had accepted that it was time for Clare Short to go following her ‘reckless’ comment and the events of last week, the PMOS said that the decision had been taken by Ms Short herself, not the Prime Minister. We had explained in great detail the background to the so-called second Resolution. Ms Short had also explained her comments at the time. As we had pointed out at last Friday’s briefing, it was not unusual for a Minister to be absent from Cabinet when they had a competing engagement. Asked about Ms Short’s failure to vote, the PMOS repeated that she had given an explanation which had been accepted. He said he recognised the media’s temptation to review some of the political ebbs and flows of the last few months relating to Ms Short. However, if people stood back and looked at the big picture, they would see a very distinguished track record of achievement at DfID which Ms Short could look back on with satisfaction. It went without saying that the Prime Minister was extremely grateful for the work she had done there.
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister regretted Ms Short’s departure and the way it had been handled, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had accepted her decision. He had appointed a replacement and was now looking forward. Asked if Ms Short had suspected that she was about to be sacked, the PMOS said that if he was being asked a reshuffle question, all he would say was that he had certainly not intended to come to this morning’s briefing and talk about ministerial changes. Asked when John Denham’s replacement would be announced, the PMOS said that other appointments would be announced in due course. Asked to explain why it was taking so long to fill Mr Denham’s post when Ms Short’s replacement had been announced so quickly, the PMOS pointed out that Ms Short had been a Cabinet Minister. Put to him that it had taken three weeks to replace Robin Cook, the PMOS agreed, but pointed out that we had been about in a military conflict at the time. It was the Prime Minister’s job to make a judgement as to how long to leave a post unfilled. In his view, given the importance of post-conflict issues in Iraq, as well as the totality of DfID’s agenda in terms of NEPAD for example, he had considered it important to fill the vacancy quickly. Asked if the Prime Minister felt let down by Ms Short’s resignation at such a crucial time for the Department, the PMOS said that it was not a question of the Prime Minister characterising what had happened. It was a question of his dealing with the situation and appointing a replacement.
Questioned as to whether Baroness Amos’s appointment was supposed to act as some sort of signal to the ethnic minorities, the PMOS said it was signal that the Prime Minister would promote and reward talent within his Government, regardless of background. He believed that Baroness Amos’s reputation and track record as a Minister was first rate. It was for that reason alone that she had been promoted. Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken to Baroness Amos personally, the PMOS said yes. She had come in to see the Prime Minister just after 10.30am.
Euro
Asked when a Statement on the outcome of the five economic tests might be made, the PMOS said that the timetable remained as set out by the Chancellor. Put to him that the Chancellor himself had said that he would be making a Statement in the first week of June, the PMOS said that it was important for people to exercise a little patience. We would have to wait and see how things panned out over the coming weeks.
Questioned as to when Cabinet was due to discuss the issue, the PMOS said that intensive discussions between the Prime Minister and Chancellor had been taking place for some time, as was well known. Obviously there would be a Cabinet discussion before a final decision was taken. An announcement would be made shortly after that. Asked if the Cabinet would be allowed a proper discussion or whether the Chancellor would present his findings and his conclusions as a fait accompli, the PMOS pointed out that the nature of Cabinet discussions meant Cabinet Ministers were able to contribute to them. That was what a discussion meant. Asked if he was implying there was every chance that the Chancellor’s conclusions could be altered between the time of the Cabinet discussion and his Statement to the House, the PMOS said that if issues were referred to Cabinet for a final decision, the Prime Minister and Chancellor obviously respected the views of their Cabinet colleagues.
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