Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: EU Informal Summit, South East Asian Earthquake, Proscription Order, 90-Day Detention Period, David Blunkett, Northern Ireland, Iraq Statement, Smoking Ban and German Elections.
EU Informal Summit
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) told journalists that following consultations with other European Heads of Government the Informal EU Summit being held at Hampton Court would be on Thursday 27 October from 10am till 6pm. The preference had been, given the nature of this summit, for a concentrated day so that we could squeeze in more discussion time than you normally could in the usual evening and morning sessions in Brussels. There would be several working sessions throughout the day of the Summit. As the Prime Minister had made in clear in Paris we needed to distinguish what this summit was about. It was a follow up to his Europe speech, in that we wanted to concentrate on how we faced the challenge of globalisation as Europe. As the Prime Minster said there were various areas where we would be working in cooperation with our French counterparts in preparation for the Summit.
South East Asian Earthquake
The PMOS told journalists that the Prime Minister had spoken to President Musharraf of Pakistan yesterday evening to offer his condolences and to offer further help. We had responded so far by committing around £1 million of assistance in one way or another. The first search and rescue team had left on Saturday and had already been involved in rescuing people trapped in a tower block in Islamabad. A second search and rescue team had reached the main earthquake zone in Pakistan controlled Kashmir. So far a UK chartered aircraft had taken the following: 75 people and 5 dogs in the UK search and rescue teams; a rapid response team of Foreign & Commonwealth Office consular staff to support UK nationals and dual nationals; 4 Department of International Development advisers; and 9 tonnes of relief supplies including blankets and so on. We had also said that we would pay for the transport of relief goods provided by British NGOs as we had done during the Tsunami relief effort.
Asked if we were providing British helicopters as part of our aid package, the PMOS said that he understood that the United States had offered 9 helicopters, NATO was also looking at what it could offer, but as he understood it there was a limit on the capacity of how many helicopters Pakistan could deal with. What they had been offered at present met that capacity. However we would keep everything under review.
Proscription Order
Asked if the Home Secretary was proscribing new organisations today, the PMOS explained that these were the organisations that were already regarded as terrorist organisations. In regard to the new legislation he could not go into detail of potential individual organisations, but the new legislation would allow us to deal with other organisations. Asked if it included Hizb ut Tahir, the PMOS said that we could not go into individual cases of groups that would be covered by the new legislation. Today’s announcement was in relation to the existing legislation. The groups would be those not caught under the under the new legislation. Asked what form of legal instrument it was, the PMOS said it was a Statutory Instrument but for further information people should speak to the Home Office.
90-Day Detention Period
Asked about the Attorney General’s alleged concern about the legality of a 90-day detention period, the PMOS said that we did not comment on the Attorney General’s advice. The Government’s position was that this request from the police had to be considered very seriously. The idea originated after 7/7. It was at the request of the police, who because of the complexity of the evidence gathering process in such cases believed that they needed the 90-day period to detain people. 3 months would be the maximum and only used in exceptional cases. It would also be subject to regular judicial review. As such this was why we were seriously considering the matter. Clearly we wanted to move forward, if possible, on the basis of consent. However we had to recognise that the starting point was a very serious request made by the police because of the complexity of these cases. Asked if it was more important to get a consensus, the PMOS said that in terms of trying to get a consensus we were genuine about that, equally however we had to take very seriously the request of the police for this additional power, given that it would be subject to judicial oversight. The Home Secretary had made his position clear on this last week. The Met Police had published supporting evidence about why they wanted a 3-month period. This was not something we were considering for any reasons other than because the police believed it to be necessary. Asked when the Prime Minister last spoke to leaders about the search for a consensus, the PMOS pointed out that the opposition leaders had been busy with other matters in recent weeks but that the Home Secretary had remained in touch with his opposite numbers.
In response to the suggestion that in the search for a consensus that was acceptable to the police that 3 months could become 2 months, the PMOS said that he was not going to give a running commentary on those discussions. What we were determined to do was consider very very seriously the request by the police in this matter because they had specific reasons why they believed it was necessary to detain people for longer than usual. These would be for exceptional circumstances and be subject to judicial oversight. Asked if the Prime Minister believed that 3 months would be practical in actuality and not be challenged in the courts, the PMOS said in terms of the legal position they were matters that had to be considered. We also had to consider the seriousness with which the police were putting this forward.
Asked if we had agreed any further deportation orders since Jordan, the PMOS said that active discussion continued with other countries but he would not be offering a running commentary on them.
David Blunkett
Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with David Blunkett that the daily tittle-tattle on his private life did not affect his job, the PMOS said that David Blunkett had a serious job with welfare reform. As he showed today he was getting on with that job. End of story.
Asked if David Blunkett was right to criticise people who watched daytime TV, the PMOS said that the important point that David Blunkett had made today was what the surveys had shown that there were people who wanted to get off IB and back to work. That was why it was important that we developed pilots such as Pathways to Work so that we could see how best to implement that change. That was what the programme that he was developing was about.
Northern Ireland
Asked about progress in Northern Ireland since decommissioning, the PMOS said we should look back at where we were in July. We had heard a very clear form of words from the IRA. We had now seen the decommissioning commission and the 2 independent witnesses saying that full decommissioning had taken place. We awaited the IMC report on paramilitary activity, or rather the lack of it in terms of the IRA. What we had seen was the implementation, we believed, of what the IRA had said it would do in July and we hoped the IMC report would support that. That was progress. Given the past we understood people’s scepticism but we believed that as the implications of the decommissioning report were assessed and once the IMC report came out hopefully people would begin to see that this time things had really changed.
Asked whether the Inland Revenue’s Asset Recovery Agency had refrained from going after "Slab" Murphy’s assets until after the decommissioning process had completed, the PMOS suggested that what was reported in newspapers was not always the case. The Asset Recovery Agency was an independent body and its remit had always been to take action against whomever it believed it needed to take action against. He had no doubt this was the basis of their actions in this instance where they had taken action against loyalist paramilitaries who had, unfortunately, not decommissioned.
Iraq Statement
Asked if the Defence Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons today would include troop rotation announcements, the PMOS said that it was purely and simply an update on Iraq. There would not be new announcements as such.
Smoking Ban
Asked what the Prime Minister’s view on a smoking ban in pubs was, the PMOS said that there was a consultation process that had just been completed. No final decisions had been taken on the basis of that consultation period. The Department of Health would make known the results in due course. People should wait for that report.
German Elections
Asked if there was a reaction to Angela Merkel becoming Chancellor of Germany, the PMOS suggested it premature to comment.
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