Prime Minister David Cameron said:

“We welcome IPSA’s announcement on MPs’ pay and pensions, ensuring that MPs are in line with other public servants, and we welcome the changes that they continue to introduce to help MPs perform their duties.

We are committed to an independent and transparent system for the regulation of MPs’ expenses which IPSA has introduced.

 

IPSA does an important job, and should now be allowed to continue with it.”

The Prime Minister said:

“Today is a day to pay tribute to the magnificent service of HM the Queen. With experience, dignity and quiet authority she has guided and united our nation and the Commonwealth over six varied decades.

You sometimes hear people talk as if the Monarchy was simply a glittering ornament, a decoration on our national life. That misunderstands our constitution and it underestimates our Queen. Always dedicated, always resolute and always respected, she is a source of wisdom and continuity.

 

All my life, and for the lives of most people in this country, she has always been there for us. Today, and this year, in the 60th anniversary of her reign, we have the chance to say thank you.”

“Ahead of meeting EU leaders at the Informal European Council in Brussels on Monday, the Prime Minister has phoned Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the General Secretary of the Burmese National League for Democracy.

 

“Speaking to Mr Rajoy, the Prime Minister said he was looking forward to welcoming him to London for a bilateral meeting next month. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to focus Monday’s discussions on concrete action that the EU could take to generate growth across Europe, for example on trade and deregulation. Mr Rajoy agreed that they should focus on restoring competitiveness.

 

“The Prime Minister also wants European leaders to consider the EU’s response to the incredible progress in Burma, following the decision by foreign ministers to lift certain EU travel bans. He phoned Aung San Su Kyi to seek her advice on this issue, specifically how the EU can incentivise the Burmese government to build on the positive steps it has taken in recent weeks and he congratulated Ms Suu Kyi on her role in securing these developments.  Ms Suu Kyi made clear that there needs to be further progress to end the violence in the ethnic conflicts, and free and fair by-elections in April, but that she has trust in President Thein’s commitment to reform. Ms Suu Kyi thanked the Prime Minister for the UK’s support to Burma, including development assistance. They agreed to keep in close touch over the next few weeks.”

 

Following the phone calls, a Downing St spokesperson said:

“The Prime Minister has called both the European Council President and the President of the European Commission to discuss next week’s Informal European Council.

“The Prime Minister emphasised the need for bold action to restore Europe’s competitiveness. In this context, the meeting should concentrate on ways that the EU can support economic growth across the continent and set specific targets to liberalise EU trade with other markets and to reduce the burden of EU regulation on business.

“Turning to foreign policy, they discussed Syria and Iran. The Prime Minister welcomed the sanctions packages that had been agreed this week by foreign ministers on Monday. Leaders should send a clear signal from the summit that they will continue to maintain pressure on both regimes until they address the concerns of the international community. The Prime Minister also raised the need for the EU to underline its support for the progress being made in Burma and the need for this to continue.”

• use the full potential of the Single Market. Completing it and removing unjustified barriers to cross-border trade remains an important task to enhance growth prospects
• improve the functioning of national labour markets in the EU by taking appropriate measures at the national level
• conclude Free Trade Agreement negotiations on the right economic terms with key partners in 2012; and in particular use the High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth established at the EU-US Summit last November to identify ways to boost EU-US trade and investment, specifically the option of a free trade agreement
• reduce the burden of regulation on the European private sector; in particular through a Commission programme to reduce the overall burden stemming from new and existing legislation.

They also discussed the situation in the Middle East following the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to both London and Berlin earlier this week. In their respective meetings with President Abbas, Chancellor Merkel and the Prime Minister stressed their full support for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians mediated by the Middle East Quartet and Jordan and leading towards a two-state-solution. They commended the Kingdom of Jordan for the important role it had played in initiating the talks.

They welcomed President Abbas’ support for the ongoing direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians and urged him to remain engaged in this process. They agreed that the Israeli government should take concrete steps to help maintain the current momentum of talks. They also underlined that both parties had to demonstrate their will to engage in meaningful negotiations by building-up trust and avoiding unilateral steps. They emphasized the need to concentrate first on the issues of territory and security and reiterated that both sides should be ready to enter into, and sustain, substantial discussions.

The statement reads:

“Today, the EU agreed an unprecedented package of sanctions on Iran, including a full ban on Iranian oil exports.

“Our message is clear. We have no quarrel with the Iranian people. But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran has so far had no regard for its international obligations and is already exporting and threatening violence around its region.

 

 

“We call on Iran’s leadership immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and abide fully by its international obligations. The door is open to Iran to engage in serious and meaningful negotiations about its nuclear programme. Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures to undermine the regime’s ability to fund its nuclear programme, and to demonstrate the cost of a path that threatens the peace and security of us all.”

 

The Prime Minister said:

“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that the British Embassy in Baghdad received a body today that has been identified as Alan McMenemy, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2007, along with four other men. The bodies of Jason Swindlehurst, Jason Creswell and Alec MacLachlan were returned in 2009. Peter Moore was the only hostage released alive in 2010.

 “My thoughts are with Alan’s family & friends at this time. They have waited so long for his return and I hope that this will allow them to find some peace after an ordeal that no family should ever have to suffer.

“At this time we should also take time to remember the families of Margaret Hassan and Ken Bigley who are still waiting for the return of their loved ones.”

“The PM has made it clear he is happy to meet Alex Salmond and arrangements for that will be made in the coming days.

“However, he also believes the First Minister should accept the invitation to meet the Secretary of State for Scotland on Thursday to discuss his views on the consultation process.”

The spokesperson said:

“The Prime Minister met the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Downing Street this morning.

“They discussed bilateral relations between Ireland and Britain, noting the success of the State visit to Ireland last year by Her Majesty the Queen. They agreed to build on this success by work in 2012 to deepen economic partnership. The Prime Minister congratulated the Taoiseach on the steps which Ireland is taking to implement its fiscal programme and the progress in returning Ireland’s deficit to sustainable levels.

“They discussed Northern Ireland, and reiterated their commitment to working closely together to ensure safety and prosperity there, including through close cross-border cooperation.

“The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach also discussed the eurozone and the European economy. They agreed on the urgent need to resolve the current eurozone debt crisis and the priority of further EU-wide steps to stimulate growth and competitiveness. Looking ahead to the European Council meeting on 30 January, they stressed the importance of putting growth and jobs at the top of the EU agenda, and proposals to extend the single market.”

“The Prime Minister met the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, this afternoon. They discussed the European economy and agreed that urgent action is required to find a sustainable financing solution to the current debt crisis in the eurozone.

 

“They also agreed that improving competitiveness across Europe is the long term priority to tackle the causes of the crisis and that concrete action to boost growth should be agreed by EU leaders when they meet in Brussels at the end of January. They agreed to explore specific elements of a pro-competitiveness agenda, including completing EU trade deals with other countries; extending the single market in the areas of services, energy, IT and telecoms; and reducing regulation which stifles business and jobs.

 

“The Prime Minister also raised the situation in Somalia ahead of the international conference that he will chair in February. The leaders agreed that the international community should step up efforts to tackle the problems of state failure, terrorism and piracy in Somalia.”