Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Margaret Hodge, Email, President Bush and Iraq.
Margaret Hodge
Asked about the meeting last night between the Prime Minister and Minister for Children, Margaret Hodge, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) told journalists that as he had said yesterday the Prime Minister and Margaret Hodge were meeting representatives from the five leading children’s charities. It had been a pre-arranged meeting to discuss the children’s Green Paper, the consultation for which finishes at the end of this month. Asked whether the Prime Minister still believed Mrs. Hodge to be the right person to be Minister for Children the PMOS said that position was the same today as it had been yesterday and the day before that. Questioned further about Mrs. Hodge’s visit to Downing Street last night the PMOS said that she was in Downing Street for a reception for voluntary organisations. Asked if he was categorically saying that the Prime Minister and Mrs. Hodge hadn’t discussed the current controversy the PMOS said that the Prime Minister and Mrs. Hodge’s time yesterday had been virtually exclusively taken up with the business in hand which was the Green Paper.
Asked if she would still be Minister for Children at the end of the day the PMOS replied that she was the Children’s Minister as we speak and he had no reason whatsoever to expect that position to change by the end of the day. Asked if the Prime Minister considered it appropriate for her to apologise for her comments in her letter to the BBC, the PMOS said he had read that there would be "legal deadlines" today so it would best to wait and see how things developed during the course of the day.
Asked if the Prime Minister and Mrs. Hodge had any other discussion recently - not necessarily in Downing Street, the PMOS said not as far as he knew. Asked if the Prime Minister ought to have discussed this with her given the nature of the controversy, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was clearly across all issues in relation to his Government as journalists would expect. The judgement he had to make was whether a minister was able to do the job that he had asked them to do. The Prime Minister believed that if you looked at what Mrs. Hodge had achieved whilst in Government, for instance her work on Sure-Start and her work on higher education issues, she had a good record. That was a judgement that the Prime Minister had to make and that was the judgement he had made. He thought the position was pretty clear.
Asked if there had been meeting between the Prime Minister, Margaret Hodge and Charles Clarke yesterday evening the PMOS said not that he was aware of.
Asked if the Prime Minister believed that Margaret Hodge’s actions would actually encourage or discourage child abuse victims to come forward the PMOS said that the Government’s responsibility was to put in place a new framework for children’s services that offered more protection to children. That was why we were consulting for example on the Independent Children’s Commissioner as part of the Green Paper. We should see how things develop throughout the day
Asked if the Government would pay for Margaret Hodge’s legal counsel in the event of a libel action the PMOS said that a question like that was hypothetical. Should it ever move to a position where it was no longer hypothetical then clearly there would be an answer to it. It wasn’t particularly sensible to engage in speculation. Asked if Government lawyers had been involved in a response to the abuse victim the PMOS said that he didn’t know. He thought it was being handled on a personal capacity, but encouraged journalists to check with the department.
Asked if it was appropriate for a Government minister to write a letter to the BBC and to copy it to the editor of the Today Programme and not alert Downing Street the PMOS said what was important as far as Downing Street was concerned were the issues in relation to the children’s Green Paper, and the consultation work that was being carried out on that. The Prime Minister had a very good meeting yesterday with the children’s charities which Margaret Hodge attended and that was what we regarded as most important. Put to him that whilst Downing Street had emphasised what a brilliant minister Margaret Hodge was, it had yet to comment on how she had handled the current controversy and whether she should have written the letter. The PMOS said he had indicated the Prime Minister’s support for the minister several times. Asked if Downing Street regarded this controversy as a private matter for Mrs. Hodge or whether it was a ministerial matter the PMOS said that in as much as he was being asked about a Minister in the Government clearly there were issues in relation to that which were appropriate for him to answer. As far as any legal issues were concerned he advised journalists to check with the department. Asked if Mrs. Hodge had offered to resign the PMOS said that she remained a Government minister.
Put to him that the Prime Minister had been advised that his appointment of Margaret Hodge as Minister for Children would prove controversial. The PMOS repeated that the judgement the Prime Minister had to make was who were the best people to do the jobs available. The fact that she continued to do the job now and would continue to do the job at the end of today reflected the Prime Minister’s confidence in her abilities. Asked if he would be surprised if at the end of the day Margaret Hodge was no longer Minister for Children the PMOS said that yes he would be surprised.
Asked to comment on the story that a hairdresser had been receiving email from the Prime Minister the PMOS said that he had seen the story but he hadn’t checked what had been going on in cyber communications between Downing Street and the hairdressing community.
President Bush
Asked if the Prime Minister was pleased that President Bush would be meeting members of bereaved families of those who had fought in Iraq the PMOS said that it was important that the sacrifice of those who had died during the conflict in Iraq and in other conflicts was recognised and that sacrifice was not forgotten.
Asked what the Prime Minister thought about Robin Cook’s comments concerning peace protestors the PMOS said that Robin Cook was entitled to his views. As the Prime Minister had acknowledged with Presidents Bush’s presence here there would be a vigorous debate on all sorts of issues. He would put Mr. Cook’s article in that category.
Iraq
Asked what Britain’s position was on the future shape of the Iraqi Governing Council the PMOS said that the position was the same as yesterday and had been the position for a while. Everyone wanted to transfer power as quickly as possible. The coalition was clearly mindful of its responsibilities for basic governance and security. The timetable for handover had to be right. There were clearly issues involved in terms of the Iraqi Governing Council and the timetable for conferring further legitimacy on Iraqi self-government. That was an issue that was continuing to be discussed. There was an undertaking to set out further plans by the 15th of December. We had always been clear that we wanted an Iraq for the Iraqi people, by the Iraqi people and that we wanted to transfer sovereignty as quickly as possible and that had not changed since day one. We had to be mindful of the realities on the ground.
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