Briefing from the Prime Minister's Spokesman on: Iraq, Prostitution, Madeleine McCann Case and British Jobs

Morning press briefing from 10 September 2007
Briefing from the Prime Minister's Spokesman on: Iraq, Prostitution, Madeleine McCann Case and British Jobs

Downing Street press briefings explained

Iraq
Asked whether British troops should remain in Basra, after suggestions were made in the press by a British officer that troops could have been pulled out over five months ago, the Prime Minister's Spokesman told the assembled press that the Ministry of Defence had made the position very clear. The Government was able to hand over Basra Palace because of progress made and capability demonstrated by Iraqi security forces, particularly the army. The PMS added that Basra Palace was only handed over this month because that was when conditions were right and the Iraqi forces were ready to take over.

Asked if the Patreus Report would influence the timing of the return of any more British troops, the PMS replied that Patreus had not reported yet and the Government would wait until he did so before commenting on it. The PMS said that in general terms, the Prime Minister had made clear on numerous occasions that the Government had obligations to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government as well as the United Nations, but that any decisions to be made in relation to British troops, would be made on the basis of an assessment of the situation on the ground by military commanders.

In response to the suggestion that the Daily Telegraph article was correct and at least some of the deaths of British troops since April may have been purely political ones to maintain the Government's relationship with George Bush, the PMS said that the Ministry of Defence had made it clear that the article was not correct and the decision to hand over Basra Palace to the Iraqi security authorities was only made this month because that was when the Iraqi security forces were ready to take over responsibility. Asked what the PMS thought the Officer quoted in the articles motive was, the PMS said he had no idea.

Asked if the officer involved was incorrect in what he said, the PMS replied that it was for the military and the Ministry of Defence to provide commentary on that and they had made their position very clear.

Prostitution

Asked to comment on a report claiming that the Government was considering criminalising men who paid for prostitutes, the PMS said that the Government had seen the report and it looked highly speculative. There had been no such proposals put to the Prime Minister.

Madeleine McCann Case

Asked if the Prime Minister had any comment to make on the Madeleine McCann case, the PMS said that it was an ongoing investigation and the Foreign Secretary had made clear that in relation to the support the McCann's needed in Portugal, the usual Consulate access would be provided. The PMS added it would be inappropriate to comment further.

British Jobs

Asked whether the Prime Minister's aim to create more British jobs for British workers was a recognition that perhaps the level of migrant workers into Britain was too high, the PMS replied it was a recognition of the fact that although the country had roughly 8-900,000 people on the claimant count, there were in fact 650,000 vacancies in Britain. The PMS added that more needed to be done to match the current level of vacancies to workers who were currently claiming unemployment benefit, hence the package of measures the Prime Minister would be announcing today. This would be in relation to closer working between Job Centre Plus and the major employers through the local employer partnerships, as well as improving centres for loan parents imparticular, to get back into work.

Asked if the Prime Minister recognised the concerns of people who thought there were too many migrant workers, the PMS said that the Prime Minister believed immigration had had a positive effect on the British economy. The Government had moved towards the points-based system in relation to migration, which differentiates between the economic contributions made by different migrant workers. The Prime Minister would be announcing a strengthening of that system today, through the new requirement for fluency in the English language for skilled workers, but the PMS added that it was also necessary to recognise that migration needed to be responsive to the needs of the economy. Therefore the Government was not in favour of imposing a fixed numerical limit on the total number of migrants coming into the economy, because that would depend on decisions made by individuals and by employers.

Asked whether the Government had made any progress on hitting it's target of 80% employment and when that figure might be reached, the PMS said that progress was being made and employment was at record levels. The PMS suggested that for the specific figures, people should speak to the Treasury. Asked if hitting the target depended on these jobs being filled by British workers, the PMS said that it would help the Government in reaching that target, but it would depend on a whole host of factors, of which one element was Government policy.