Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Abortion, MMR, Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and Butler Report.
Abortion
Asked if the Prime Minister had had time to read up on the scientific evidence relating to abortion in the light of a question about the issue at PMQs today, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said no. The Prime Minister had been rather busy since PMQs, as journalists were no doubt well aware. For the avoidance of any doubt, however, the Prime Minister had not been signalling a change in Government policy on abortion. He had simply been underlining the point that this was an issue which, in the past, had been up to individual MPs to consider and that that was the way it would be in the future. As he had pointed out, the debate moved on as technology progressed. Asked if the Prime Minister had been indicating that there were plans to look again at the legislation, the PMOS said no. Asked if the Prime Minister would initiate any research into the subject, the PMOS said no. He would read through the existing research and evidence. Questioned as to whether the Government would support a Private Member’s Bill on abortion, the PMOS said that given the sensitivity of the issue, he did not think it would be wise to get drawn into a hypothetical discussion about it.
Asked the Prime Minister’s personal view on abortion, the PMOS said that he had not asked him. Put to him that the Prime Minister had voted to lower the legal limit from twenty-eight weeks to twenty-four weeks in 1990, the PMOS said he would not deny that was the case.
MMR
Asked if the Prime Minister believed that the number of Mumps cases had risen because of the misreporting of research into the MMR vaccine in The Lancet, the PMOS said he thought that it would be better to leave the analysis to those best qualified to do so in the Department of Health and related organisations. We had made our position on MMR clear at the time of the initial controversy when we had also set out our fear of the consequences in the event of a fall in the uptake of the vaccine. That view had not changed.
Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi might cause trouble while he was visiting the UK, the PMOS said that as the Home Secretary had made clear this morning, Dr Al-Qaradawi’s actions and words would be closely monitored while he remained in Britain. The Home Office Minister, Fiona MacTaggart, had set out her own reasons for withdrawing from the event at which Dr Al-Qaradawi was due to appear and had said she was disappointed that, unbeknownst to her, he had been billed as guest speaker.
Asked if the Prime Minister would expect backbench MPs not to associate themselves with the event, the PMOS said that as a Civil Servant, he was unable to comment on party political issues. He would simply refer journalists to Ms MacTaggart’s reasons for not wishing to associate herself with the event in any way. Asked if he would agree that it had been a mistake to allow Dr Al-Qarawadi entry into the UK, the PMOS said that everyone had to abide by the laws of the land. The obvious question was whether people posed a security threat or not. These were always difficult cases for a Home Secretary to consider. Nevertheless, a judgement had had to be made. As Mr Blunkett had underlined this morning, Dr Al-Qaradawi would be closely monitored during his visit here.
Asked to explain why, if the Prime Minister wanted nothing to do with suicide bombers and terrorists, he had had a meeting with the President of Syria in 2001 only to hear him say in a joint press conference that Palestinian suicide bombers could be likened to the French Resistance, the PMOS pointed out that the Prime Minister had immediately taken the opportunity to restate the Government’s position on the Middle East live on Syrian television by making clear, as indeed he had ever since - most recently at the Liaison Committee yesterday, that terrorism should not be supported in any way and that it was necessary to recognise the need for security for Israel.
Butler Report
Asked if it remained the intention to publish the Butler Report on 14 July, the PMOS said that the Inquiry team had stated that they were aiming for that date. Ultimately, however, it was a matter for them.
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