Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Spanish bomb attacks and Northern Ireland.
Spanish Bomb Attacks
Asked for a reaction to speculation this morning that Al Qaida might have been responsible for yesterday’s bomb attacks in Madrid, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that as we had stated last night, we believed this was a matter which was best left to the Spanish authorities to assess. We had no reason to second-guess their judgement and we were content to leave it up to them. Obviously, if we could provide any assistance, we would do so. The PMOS added that Denis MacShane would be travelling to Madrid today to take part in the demonstrations there later this evening. Asked if the assistance we were offering to Spain related to intelligence, the PMOS said that we never commented on intelligence issues. Asked if any British policemen were being sent to Madrid, the PMOS said not as far as he was aware.
Asked if Downing Street had been in contact with the Spanish authorities in the last twenty-four hours, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had spoken directly to Prime Minister Aznar by phone yesterday afternoon. Prime Minister Aznar had said that he was very grateful for the solidarity and support which the UK had expressed yesterday morning. The two leaders had then had a discussion about the attacks and the question of attribution. Asked if the Prime Minister was intending to speak to Mr Aznar again today, the PMOS said no. In our experience, it was important to balance the need to express solidarity and offer support with the need to let the Spanish authorities deal with the aftermath of yesterday’s outrage. Obviously we were in regular contact with the Spanish Government at many levels in any event, and would continue to be so at this time.
Questioned as to whether the intelligence services in the UK were examining whether the attacks in Madrid had any ramifications for a possible terror attack in Britain, the PMOS said that we continued to make our own assessments about the security threat to the UK on a daily basis, and responded accordingly. He repeated that we had no reason to second-guess the Spanish authorities’ assessment of the situation. Asked if he was indicating that the Government had no plans to step up internal security measures in the light of the attacks yesterday, the PMOS pointed out that the UK’s level of security was already high. He repeated that assessments were made on a daily basis.
Asked if he had any further information about British casualties, the PMOS said that we were aware of one British national, currently residing in Spain, who was still in hospital. She had been visited by Consular staff.
Asked why a Minister of Cabinet rank would not be representing the British Government at the demonstration in Madrid this evening in the light of the fact that the French Prime Minister and German Chancellor would be attending, the PMOS said that Denis MacShane had confirmed on Newsnight last night that he would be attending. It was highly possible that other Ministers would want to go as well. As Prime Minister Aznar had said yesterday, Spain was in no doubt at all that Britain stood together with the Spanish people in outrage at yesterday’s events. We stood shoulder to shoulder with them in terms of the way we viewed terrorism and in condemning those who had carried out the appalling attacks. Asked if the Prime Minister was considering whether to attend the demonstration, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was unable to do so. However, Dr MacShane, and possibly other Ministers, would be going. He repeated that Spain was in absolutely no doubt about where we stood on the issue of terrorism. Asked if the fact that senior figures from other countries would be attending had forced a rethink on UK attendance, the PMOS said no. Dr MacShane had told Newsnight last night that he would be attending. If other Ministers were available to go, no doubt they would also want to do so. Asked if Dr MacShane’s announcement had taken Downing Street by surprise, the PMOS said no.
Northern Ireland
Asked for an update on Northern Ireland following the Prime Minister’s meeting with the Taoiseach yesterday in Dublin, the PMOS said that, contrary to what some commentators had been suggesting, we were not going to let the process drift. Both Prime Ministers had signalled that they would be stepping up the pace of the review process after the St Patrick’s Day celebrations and that they, themselves, would become directly involved. As they had said last night, we had gone through a situation in which tens of questions that had had to be addressed had been whittled down to just two. First, were Unionists prepared to share power with Republicans if the IRA stopped its activities? We had received indications from both Unionist parties that the answer to that was yes. The second question was whether the IRA, as well as loyalist paramilitaries, were prepared to stop their activities. It was clear that both issues needed to be addressed urgently. Asked how soon the Independent Monitoring Commission might publish its report, the PMOS said that it was entirely a matter for the Commission. However, we, together with other parties, had indicated that we would welcome it if they brought forward the publication sooner than May.
Asked if the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach had also discussed EU issues last night in view of the fact that Ireland currently held the EU Presidency, the PMOS said that there had been some discussion about these matters. However, since the Taoiseach was still in conversation with other European leaders, what he had told the Prime Minister last night had been more of a ‘half-term report’. It went without saying that we were following those discussions with interest.
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