Briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesman on: DNA database, Speaker of the House of Commons, meeting with the Prime Minister of Ireland, meeting with President Kagame of Rwanda, mortgage scheme, Heathrow and misc
DNA Database
Asked if the Government would be reviewing the DNA database system following the decision made by the European Court of Human Rights this morning, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) replied that the Home Secretary had already said that the existing law would remain in place while we considered the judgement.
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about the decision and its implication, the PMS said that the Home Secretary had said this morning that we believed DNA and fingerprinting was vital to the fight against crime, we were disappointed by the European Court of Human Rights’ decision and would carefully consider the judgement.
Asked if more efforts would be made to get existing criminals on the DNA database, the PMS said that that was a question for the Home Office.
Speaker of the House of Commons
Asked if the Prime Minister had confidence in the Speaker of the House of Commons, the PMS said yes.
Asked why, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister believed that we should support the Speaker’s decision to review the rules so that MPs could continue to do their job, while ensuring that no one was above the law.
Asked if the Prime Minister accepted that there was some urgency in getting a review of the rules underway as soon as possible, the PMS said that we needed to balance the desire for an investigation by the committee with the requirement not to interfere in an ongoing police investigation. We had taken legal advice in regards to the motion establishing the committee, when it should report and the implications that the operation of that committee potentially had for an ongoing investigation. This was reflected in the language in the motion that was drawn up by the Government as per the Speaker’s request yesterday.
Put that the committee that investigated honours had carried on their work while the police investigation had been ongoing, the PMS said that yesterday’s motion had been drawn up on the basis of legal advice.
Asked if the Prime Minister had confidence in the Sergeant of Arms, the PMS said that that was not a question for the Prime Minister; it was for the House of Commons authorities and the Speaker.
Meeting with the Prime Minister of Ireland
Asked about the Prime Minister’s meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, the PMS said that they met this morning for about 45 minutes and discussed the forthcoming European Council, in particular handling the global economic downturn. They also discussed developments in Northern Ireland. The Irish Prime Minister would report to the European Council on the Lisbon Treaty.
Asked if they discussed the possibility of a further Irish referendum, the PMS said that that was a decision for the Irish and he would not go into the details of their discussion.
Meeting with President Kagame of Rwanda
Asked about the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Kagame, the PMS said that they would discuss the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, issues relating to regional security and what more the UK and the international community could do to preserve peace in the region.
Asked if the subject of Zimbabwe came up, the PMS said that the meeting was still ongoing.
Mortgage Scheme
Asked which of the 8 banks supposedly taking part in the scheme still didn’t support the measures announced, the PMS said that from what he had seen all the 8 banks had come out in favour of the measures that we set out yesterday.
Asked if the banks had signed off in principal to the proposals, the PMS said yes and that there were details that we would work on with the banks in coming days.
Asked for a time scale on when to expect more details, the PMS said it was best to check with the Treasury.
Asked if any other banks were taking part in the mortgage scheme, the PMS said that we were in discussions with lenders and we would like the coverage to be as broad as possible. It was best to check with the Treasury for any developments over the course of today.
Heathrow
Asked why there had been a delay in making a decision regarding Heathrow, the PMS said that this was a decision of enormous national and regional importance and as such it was important that we made the right decision. We had had two public consultations, the most recent one ending on 9 November, and there had been a series of technical reports and impact assessments. All this work was ongoing and it was right that the decision, expected in January, should be on the basis of a full analysis of those reports and assessments.
Asked if the delay was a reflection of the fact that there were differing views in the Cabinet, the PMS said that the delay was a reflection of the fact that this was an important decision that needed to be made on the basis of a full analysis of all the available information.
Asked if there were any differing views in Cabinet, the PMS said that he was not going to comment on that speculation.
Misc
Asked if Lord Mandelson was meeting with bankers and Treasury officials today, the PMS said that there was a regular meeting taking place between the Chancellor, Treasury Officials and representatives of the banks.
Asked if the Prime Minister was keen for any interest rates cuts announced by the Bank of England (BoE) today to be passed on in full, the PMS said that he was not going to hypothesise on what the BoE may or may not decide to do later. Our position in the past following decisions made by BoE had been clear.
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