Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: Media Coverage/Black Watch, OPEC, Soap Opera, Postal Ballots, Schroeder Dinner, Burglar/Prosecution Figures and Northern Ireland.
Media Coverage/Black Watch
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with General Sir Michael Walker’s recent comments that media coverage to the Black Watch deployment might have put them at risk, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that General Walker was making the point that for reasons of operational security, people should be careful about what we said about military deployments. Any speculation about timings and movements could put troops in danger.
OPEC
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that OPEC may cut oil supplies, the PMS said she was not aware of the story, and until she had seen it, would prefer not to comment.
Soap Opera
Asked if the Prime Minister had any plans to appear in a popular soap opera this Christmas, and if so, which one, the PMS said she was not aware of plans for him to do so.
Asked what his favourite soap opera was, and did he prefer "Eastenders" or "Coronation Street" the PMS said she did not know.
Postal Ballots
Asked if the Government was going to go ahead with postal ballots for local elections next year, the PMS replied that it was up to the local authorities to decide if they would use postal ballots in their areas. Our view was that the postal ballots that had been used this year in the regional referendum and the European Elections showed that people were very interested in this, and that the turn out had increased. We were very keen that people took part in the democratic process, and postal balloting which had taken place this year showed it was popular.
Asked if a local council area could also run postal ballots alongside a general election ballot, the PMS said there were no plans to hold an all postal ballot for a general election.
Schroeder Dinner
Asked what was on the agenda for the Prime Minister’s dinner with Chancellor Schroeder on Tuesday, the PMS said it would be better to wait until nearer the time.
Burglar/Prosecution Figures
Asked if the Prime Minister knew how many people were prosecuted each year for injuring or "shooting dead" burglars, and did he have any idea how widespread the problem was, the PMS said she did not have the figures, and advised the journalist to ask the Home Office.
Northern Ireland
Asked if the Prime Minister had held any further conversations with any of the parties involved in the Northern Ireland talks earlier this week, the PMS said she was not aware of any recent discussions. As her colleague had said yesterday, discussions were continuing, and we were at the stage where it would be better for those discussions to continue in private.
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