Briefing by the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: D-Day Anniversary, LDV, Royal Mail and Iraq war
D-Day Anniversary
Asked whether the Prime Minister would be attending the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that there was no question of the Government’s commitment to veterans and full participation in an international commemoration of D-Day. Plans for the event in France were still being developed and no formal invitations had been issued yet, but of course we would be represented at an appropriate level and would look at what support our veterans needed to take part.
LDV
Asked if the Government was concerned about the situation at LDV, the PMS replied that as we had said repeatedly on the subject, we looked in the first instance to the parent company to provide assistance for LDV and the PMS was not aware that that position had changed.
Asked if the Government was concerned that the company was scaremongering, the PMS said that the company had made a number of representations to the Department for Business. The department examined those requests as they examined all requests from the car industry. The PMS repeated that in the first instance, it was for the parent company to address the problems with LDV.
Royal Mail
Put that the Chief Whip had said that the Government was listening if anyone could come up with an alternative proposal to selling a shareholding, the PMS said that as we had made clear all along, we thought that the Hooper Review into Royal Mail was comprehensive and produced a compelling case for the modernisation of Royal Mail. We were always open to proposals and ideas, but we felt the Hooper Review was a comprehensive piece of work that provided not just an analysis of the challenges facing Royal Mail, but also a comprehensive list of actions that were required to see through the modernisation of Royal Mail.
Asked if the Government was determined to press ahead with the sale of the stake or was it open to rethinking that, the PMS said that it meant the Government had set out its plans. Of course, we were open to views expressed by others, but we felt that the Hooper Review was a comprehensive and thorough piece of work. We recognised that there were a number of alternative views, but so far, the recommendations contained in the Hooper Report were the most comprehensive set of recommendations for taking forward modernisation.
Asked whether a private stake in Royal Mail was negotiable or not, the PMS replied that he did not have the exact wording of the Hooper Report in front of him, but the position had been set out by Lord Mandelson and other Ministers on several occasions, which was that the participation of private companies in Royal Mail was essential to bring in the kind of expertise needed to see through a successful modernisation of the organisation.
Iraq War
Asked for a response to Carne Ross’ comments that it was disgraceful for Ministers to argue that the Hutton and Butler inquiries were able to delve deeply into the issues surrounding the build-up to the war in Iraq, the PMS replied that we had always been clear what the terms of reference for the Hutton and Butler Reports were and what their purpose was. As far as Carne Ross saying that we needed a full public inquiry, the PMS said that the Government had set out its position on a public inquiry into Iraq.
Asked for a response to Mr Ross’ suggestion that a full paper-trail from Whitehall leading up to the Iraq war should be published, the PMS said that he did not know what other papers Mr Ross was referring to. Asked if he was aware of anything else that needed to be published, the PMS said that both the Hutton and Butler inquiries had access to all of the papers that they felt were necessary and we had published a great deal of information, both in the course of those inquiries and since.