Downing Street Says ... Every day the Prime Minister’s Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as ‘the lobby’ for a topical chat, or ‘briefing’.

Every day the Prime Minister's Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as 'the lobby' for a topical chat, or 'briefing'.

Downing Street Says... is an unofficial site that lets you read summaries of these briefings and add your own comments. Want to know more?

» Thursday, December 18, 2008

Iraq Inquiry

Asked whether an inquiry into the Iraq war was likely, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that the Prime Minister had set out our position succinctly during the debate when he said that this was a matter that we would consider once our troops had come home. We were not at that [...]

Car Industry

Asked for some clarity on whether there would be any kind of rescue package for the car industry, the PMS said that Lord Mandelson had had discussions with the owners and management of Jaguar Land Rover. He had been clear that the Government did not have an open chequebook to bail out ailing companies and [...]

Energy Conference

Asked for more details on the energy conference, the PMS said it was a meeting of Energy Ministers from a variety of countries and would be chaired by Ed Miliband. We saw the conference as a continuation of a process that began in Jeddah and as the Prime Minister had set out, not only in [...]

Archbishop of Canterbury

Put that the Prime Minister’s response to the Archbishop’s comments had been quite warm and generous and did the Prime Minister speak to the Archbishop regularly, the PMS said that they did. original source.

Plastic Bags Announcement

Asked about Jane Kennedy s announcement on plastic bags, the Prime Minister s Spokesman (PMS) said that the Minister for Farming and Environment, Jane Kennedy, and Britain s leading supermarkets had agreed a 50% cut in the number of carrier bags given out by spring 2009. This was a bold commitment that would result [...]

Archbishop of Canterbury

Asked for the Prime Minister s response to the Archbishop s comments this morning, the PMS said that the Archbishop of Canterbury had expressed his views on a number of subjects over the course of the year and on the issue of the economy the Government s position remained the same; we would do whatever [...]

Airport Runway Proposals

Asked about the Government s current position on the proposed second runway at Gatwick, the PMS said that the Government s position remained as set out in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper, which concluded that the case for the second runway was not as strong as the options at Stanstead and Heathrow. Asked if the [...]

Iraq

Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with the opposition party that now was the time for an inquiry into the Iraq war, the PMS said that we did not think that it was right to make any announcements on the subject whilst the Armed Forces were still operational in Iraq. Asked why it was okay to [...]

Car Industry

Asked when help for the car industry could be expected, the PMS said that Lord Mandelson had said that we were looking at the sector as a whole and that discussions had taken place with the owners and management of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as well as others in the motor manufacturing sector. Lord Mandelson [...]

» Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Car Industry:

Asked if any aid for the car industry would be offered this week, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that the Secretary of State had had meetings with representatives of the car industry, the representatives had put forward proposals and we would look at them. As and when there was anything to say Lord [...]

Discussion on Royal Mail at Cabinet:

Asked to characterise the discussion that took place at Cabinet yesterday about the Royal Mail, the PMS said he had characterised it yesterday as a positive discussion in which most members of the Cabinet participated. Asked if most members of the Cabinet had agreed, the PMS said that he was not going to get into a [...]

Jim McGovern’s resignation:

Asked for the Prime Minister’s response to Jim McGovern’s resignation, the PMS said that it was best to speak to one of the Prime Minister’s political spokesmen as the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary was a political appointment. The PMS was not aware that the Prime Minister had responded to the news as he [...]

Unemployment/Woolworth’s:

Asked if the Prime Minister was worried about the current level of unemployment, particularly considering the job losses at Woolworths, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had given a response to the latest unemployment figures, (before the announcement from Woolworths), saying that we needed to do everything we could to help people get into [...]

Miscellaneous:

Asked if the Prime Minister would give a House of Commons statement tomorrow on Iraq, the PMS said yes but he could not yet confirm the timing. original source.

Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says.

» Thursday, December 18, 2008

Iraq Inquiry

Car Industry

Energy Conference

Archbishop of Canterbury

Plastic Bags Announcement

Archbishop of Canterbury

Airport Runway Proposals

Iraq

Car Industry

» Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Car Industry:

Discussion on Royal Mail at Cabinet:

Jim McGovern’s resignation:

Unemployment/Woolworth’s:

Miscellaneous:

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