Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Respect and General Rose
Respect
Asked if there was anything further information about the "Respect" agenda tomorrow, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the important thing was that the Prime Minister would set out the broad picture in his speech in the morning. The PMOS told journalists that 16 Ministers in various regions around the country would highlight various aspects of the "Respect" agenda. This was a very practical action plan which was designed to help people with real problems at a real level. Therefore, what people should do was to judge it as a whole when they see it laid out tomorrow.
Asked how much of the agenda would contain new measures, the PMOS said these were new measures, and that would be clear tomorrow. As the PMOS had said this morning, they had been the result of bringing together the work of seven departments across Whitehall to put forward practical measures. There would be some new elements of legislation which would be attached to existing Bills going through Parliament, but much of it was sheer practical measures.
Asked if there was going to be a "Respect" Bill, the PMOS replied that his understanding was that when necessary, legislation would be attached to already planned legislation that would go through Parliament.
Asked if every single measure was new, the PMOS said that obviously, it built on past experiences. The measures, however, would be new.
Asked if the Prime Minister was confident of full support for the agenda from the Labour Party and also Parliament, the PMOS said he was not going to get into Party political aspects of it. What the Prime Minister believed was that these measures addressed real problems which were identified by people up and down the country. It also built on measures such as the Anti Social Behaviours Orders which local police had repeatedly told the Prime Minister were a great use in tackling these problems. That was seen in terms of the drop in the level of concern about anti social behaviour orders and when they had been applied.
Asked how ASBOs could be built on, the PMOS replied that in terms of the experience, if people dealt with what in the past had been regarded as low level behaviour problems, but ones that caused big problems for local neighbourhoods, and if they were tackled, then more serious crime could be prevented from developing. There was also a disproportionate effect on making life better for people if action was taken against the minority who were out to cause trouble.
Asked if personnel changes would be required to implement the new measures, the PMOS said the question was an original way to ask the reshuffle question again, but the journalist would get the PMOS’ original unoriginal answer! No comment.
General Rose
Asked if there were any further thoughts about General Michael Rose’s comments during a radio interview earlier today, the PMOS replied that the only additional comment to add from what he had said in the morning was that the turnout from the Iraqi elections had been 70%, not 68%.
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