Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Tsunami, Northern Ireland, Chancellor, Guantanamo Detainees and Prime Minister/Government.
Tsunami
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) told journalists that from today at around 11am, the FCO would be updating its website with the latest figures from the tsunami disaster. The latest figures from the Met Police Casualty Unit for today were 416 presumed to be victims of the tsunami, of which 51 were confirmed dead. That figure was down from 453 yesterday, but the number of confirmed dead remained the same. For those unaccounted for, the figure was down from 871 yesterday to 701 today.
Northern Ireland
Asked what the government’s basic position on the DUP’s suggestion that the peace process should go ahead without Sinn Fein, the PMOS said that as always with Northern Ireland, we could only move forward on the basis of cross community agreement. Therefore, any suggestion depends not on the Government’s attitude, but rather on the attitude of other parties. The SLDP, the PMOS believed, had already gone on the record as saying they believed the approach had to be all-inclusive. That inevitably put certain parameters on what was possible.
Chancellor
Asked if the Prime Minister expected the Chancellor to withdraw his remarks about not believing "a word he said anymore", the PMOS replied that it was a matter for the Chancellor and the Treasury to deal with. The Prime Minister had said on Sunday he was not going to comment further on the book other than what he had said in September, and that still remained the case.
Asked if the partnership between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor was still one of the strengths of the Government, the PMOS said: yes.
Asked if there was any suggestion in Whitehall that the narrative between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor was causing problems for policy makers, the PMOS said what people should judge by was the record of the Government. This record could be seen in terms of domestic policies, setting out a vision for the future, the five-year plans and how we responded to the tsunami disaster. We were also playing a very active role with the Chancellor this week in Africa by echoing the Government’s policy toward African development issues. The PMOS concluded that the Prime Minister’s role with the Middle East was another key area that should be judged.
Asked again if the "row" was stopping people doing their work, the PMOS said the five-year plans showed that Government policy proceeded apace.
Guantanamo Detainees
Asked if the "Guantanamo Four" were going to be released, the PMOS said people would have to wait for the Foreign Secretary’s statement later. There was a very strict procedure in place with these cases, and the PMOS could not pre-empt the Foreign Secretary.
Asked why something was happening at the moment regarding the Guantanamo detainees, the PMOS said that the process was completed, but the Foreign Secretary had to inform the families, and then the House, which was happening. Discussions had been continuing with the US Authorities for some time, and when they were brought to a conclusion, then it was right and proper that announcements were made.
Asked if the security issues that surrounded the Guantanamo individuals could still be met, the PMOS said there was always a balance that had to be struck, and the Foreign Secretary would discuss later how that could be achieved.
Prime Minister/Government
Asked how the Prime Minister’s general mood could be characterised, the PMOS repeated what he has said during yesterday’s press briefing which was that the Prime Minister believed what the public wanted was for the Government to get on with is business. The Prime Minister also believed that the backbenchers also wanted the Government to get on with business, and therefore thought it was right that the Government concentrated its energy, authority and time on getting on with business.
Asked if that was an admission that it had not been happening to a full extent, the PMOS replied, no. It was an expression of commitment to be not distracted by "noises off".
delicious
digg
facebook