Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Asylum and PM Health.
Asylum
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) drew journalists’ attention to the latest asylum statistics (July-September) which had been published today. They showed that the Government had met the Prime Minister’s target, set earlier this year, to halve the number of asylum applicants by October 2003. However, there was still clearly a lot more to be done, which was why the Government’s Asylum Bill was being published today as the third phase of reform. David Blunkett was briefing on it this morning.
PM Health
Asked about the Prime Minister’s health this morning, the PMOS said that he was fine. Asked how long his stomach pains had lasted last night, the PMOS said that he had not been feeling too great early yesterday evening and had therefore seen doctors. The problem had appeared to pass pretty quickly. He had felt fine again later on in the evening and had continued working on the speech he was due to give in Wales tomorrow. Asked if any medical treatment had been required, the PMOS said no. Asked the name of the ailment from which the Prime Minister had been suffering, the PMOS said he didn’t know, if indeed it was known.
Asked how many doctors the Prime Minister had seen, the PMOS said that as he understood it, a GP had visited the Prime Minister and had thought it would be useful to have another opinion. Asked if the second opinion had been given by a surgeon, the PMOS said that he had no intention of getting into all the details of last night’s incident and giving a medical roll call. Asked why not, the PMOS said that when the Prime Minister was admitted to hospital or was taken unwell, then obviously we would give the full background to what had happened, as we had done in the case of his episode of irregular heartbeat a couple of months ago. Indeed, some people had been surprised by how much information we had provided at that time. That said, it was important to recognise that there was a difference between that occasion and last night’s event when the Prime Minister had seen a doctor but had not required any treatment. He reminded journalists that everyone - even the Prime Minister - was entitled to some privacy in respect of their medical history. Asked to confirm that last night’s stomach ailment was not connected to the irregular heartbeat of a some weeks ago, the PMOS said he acknowledged that he wasn’t a medical expert, but as far as he was aware the stomach and heart were different parts of the body.
Put to him that the Prime Minister must have been feeling ‘pretty bad’ to have required the services of a GP and consultant, the PMOS said that as we had informed journalists last night, the Prime Minister had been experiencing stomach pains. He had seen doctors and was now feeling fine. Put to him that the two doctors he had seen must have reached some conclusion as to what it was the Prime Minister had been suffering from, even if he hadn’t required treatment, the PMOS said that he hadn’t explored in any great depth with the Prime Minister the precise nature of his complaint because an individual was entitled to some privacy - even if that individual was the Prime Minster. That said, whatever the problem had been, it had not required any treatment and the Prime Minister was now perfectly fine and getting on with his job. He had had a meeting this morning as usual at 8am, he had chaired Cabinet and would be travelling to Wales later this afternoon. Asked what time the Prime Minister had fallen ill and where he had been when it had happened, the PMOS said that he had been in No 10 in the early evening when he had started feeling under the weather - between 6 and 7pm as he thought. Asked if the Prime Minister had suffered from these stomach pains in the past, the PMOS said not as far as he was aware.
Asked to explain what Downing Street had been trying to hide given it had taken us an hour-and-a-half to confirm to journalists last night that there was anything wrong with the Prime Minister, the PMOS said that we had not been trying to hide anything. Journalists had presented us with various scenarios ranging from the Prime Minister was currently having an operation, to the suggestion that he was about to, or had been booked in to, have one today - all three of which had been completely inaccurate. It would appear that within minutes of the doctors’ departure from Downing Street last night, this ‘tip’ had circulated. The fact that it was inaccurate was something we had made clear immediately. Given the subsequent intensity of the calls to us last night, their inaccuracy and the fact we had garnered more information about the situation, we had felt it appropriate to set out in a statement the rather prosaic facts of the case - the main point of which was the fact that the Prime Minister was now fine. That was where we were. Put to him that Downing Street had misled journalists last night by insisting initially that the story was one hundred per cent wrong but then issuing a statement to the Press Association half-an-hour later confirming that a doctor had been called, the PMOS said he would disagree with the premise of the question in the strongest terms possible. He repeated that it had been put to us that the Prime Minister had been, or was being, admitted to hospital for an operation. As we had underlined last night, that was totally wrong. The fact that the central element of the ‘tip’ had been proven to be inaccurate did not give journalists a legitimate right to expect us to give the medical background to every single medical complaint involving the Prime Minister, especially when no treatment was required. As it happened, we had put out the very prosaic facts very quickly at 10.30pm, bearing in mind that we had first taken calls about this story at about 9.15pm. Asked if he was implying that we only felt obliged to let people know if the Prime Minister was unwell if he was taken to hospital, the PMOS said that these were very subjective issues. Each case would obviously be dealt with on its own merits. The fact of the Prime Minister being admitted to hospital was completely different to him seeing a doctor. Clearly, had that happened, we would have told people immediately.
Asked if a hospital had been alerted, the PMOS said he didn’t know. Pressed further, the PMOS repeated that had the Prime Minister been admitted to hospital, we would have informed the media, in the same way we had done so last time. Indeed, no one could question the speed with which we had set out all the facts of that case. However, it was important for people to acknowledge that there was a difference between the Prime Minister being admitted to hospital and the privacy to which an individual was entitled in terms of seeing a doctor. These were difficult judgements and we believed we had handled what had happened last night properly.
Asked to allay people’s concerns about the Prime Minister’s health by denying reports that a surgeon had been rushed to Downing Street last night on the back of a motorcycle, the PMOS said that if anyone had concerns about the Prime Minister, they should be comforted by the fact that the Prime Minister was absolutely fine, and was up and about continuing to carry out his duties as normal. Asked if the Queen had been informed about the incident, the PMOS said not as far as he was aware. Were the Prime Minister to have been admitted to hospital, then of course we would have informed the Palace and the media and we would have followed the same procedures as last time. However, he hadn’t, so there was no need for us to do so. These were very different circumstances. Asked if the GP who had seen the Prime Minister last night had been his regular GP, the PMOS said he didn’t know and he didn’t think it appropriate for him to try to find out. Questioned as to whether the doctor had been a Member of Parliament, the PMOS said no. So it wouldn’t have been Dr Liam Fox nor, for that matter, Dr John Reid.
Asked to reassure people that the Prime Minister was fine in the light of persistent gossip to the contrary, the PMOS said that he had absolutely no intention whatsoever of dignifying gossip. The Prime Minister had been in the House yesterday and had made an effective speech in the Queen’s Speech debate. He had chaired meetings and Cabinet this morning and would be carrying out his engagements in Wales later today and tomorrow. He thought the public could reach their own judgements about the Prime Minister’s state of health from that. Yes, he was fine.
Questioned as to whether a doctor would accompany the Prime Minister to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Nigeria next week, the PMOS said no. Asked if the Prime Minister had given any thought to taking some time off, the PMOS said no. The Prime Minister was getting on with his job.
Asked if the Prime Minister would see a doctor within the next couple of days for a medical check-up, the PMOS said that as he understood it, the doctor had said last night as he left that he would pop back and see the Prime Minister today to check how he was. Asked if that would happen before the Prime Minister’s departure for Wales, the PMOS said yes. In answer to a barrage of questions, the PMOS said that before journalists tied themselves in knots over the processology of this story, it was important not to lose sight of the over-riding fact that the Prime Minister was actually absolutely fine. That seemed to him to be the main point.
Asked by a political editor if he would agree that it was odd that two doctors had been called to investigate a Prime Ministerial stomach ache and that perhaps some tests should have been carried out to ascertain what the problem had been, the PMOS said that with all due respect, the political editor concerned should perhaps leave the medical aspects of this story to the two doctors who had seen the Prime Minister last night, in the same way he thought that the two doctors would not presume to advise him on how to write a political story.
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