Tag: Downing Street

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 12 September 2008.

An independent review on the UK’s next generation broadband access has been unveiled today looking at how the Government should maintain its position as a leading online economy.

The report findings concluded that the UK’s competitive telecoms market can deliver the next generation access in broadband, and maintain the country’s position as a leading online economy, but the Government and Ofcom need to be vigilant and play an active leadership role.

The report, headed by telecoms specialist Francesco Caio, sets out recommendations for how the Government should maintain its position as a leading online economy.

The Prime Minister met with Francesco Caio earlier today and congratulated him on the report, stressing the importance of the findings.

Mr Caio said:

“The UK and its consumers and businesses benefit from a competitive broadband industry and a rich choice of digital communications and entertainment platforms.”

The review was announced back in February 2008 by Baroness Shriti Vadera, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Competitiveness to look at a set of focused questions around the potential barriers to deployment of high speed broadband.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 September 2008.

Gordon Brown has congratulated the British Paralympic team for a string of “amazing successes” at the Games in Beijing.

In a weekend statement from Downing Street, the PM said the whole country was proud of the team and that he looked forward to meeting team members at an Olympic reception scheduled to take place at Number 10 later in the autumn.

The PM said:

“I’d like to congratulate the British Paralympic team for their wonderful performance. As with the Olympics last month, we’ve seen amazing successes in cycling, swimming and rowing as well as many other sports. We have an incredible total of 81 medals so far, 37 of these gold, and stand second in the medal table.

“I know the whole country is proud of our Paralympians and I hope the team continues to see great results over the remaining few days of the Games. I look forward congratulating them in person when I host a reception for the Paralympic team in the Autumn.”

Success on the track and in the pool saw Team GB add to its tally over the weekend. Great Britain remains second in the table with a total of 90 medals, comprising 41 gold, 23 silver and 26 bronze.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 16 September 2008.

The newly-elected Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, has met with Gordon Brown for talks this morning.

Mr Brown congratulated the President on his election as a significant step in Pakistan’s democratic transition.

In a joint statement released after the meeting concluded inside Downing Street, agreed that the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan should lead efforts to combat extremism along their mutual border, with the support of the international community.

The two leaders also agreed that a stable and strong democracy in Pakistan would play an important role in promoting peace in the region.

Speaking at his press conference last week, the PM said that a new strategy was needed to deal with the situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“… the insecurity on the border, and the porousness of the border … is a problem for both countries and we have got to approach this with a new security strategy and that is one of the things we are discussing at the moment.”

President Zardari is the husband of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw is currently in Pakistan to back the building of strong democratic institutions in helping Pakistan’s stability.

Speaking to students at the International Islamic University in Islamabad earlier today he said:

“Pakistan’s security is Britain’s security; as Britain’s security is Pakistan’s. A strong, stable and secure Pakistan is vital to UK interests at home and abroad, not least in Afghanistan.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 September 2008.

The Prime Minister met the newly-elected President Zardari of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 16 September during his private visit to the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister congratulated President Zardari on his election and welcomed this as a significant step in Pakistan’s democratic transition.  They discussed the bilateral relationship, as well as regional and international issues and agreed to strengthen co-operation in various fields, including trade, defence, health and education.  They both underlined the value they placed on the contribution being made by the one million British citizens of Pakistani origin in strengthening friendship between the two countries.

The Prime Minister and President discussed the challenges that Pakistan faces.  The Prime Minister commended President Zardari on his speech at his inauguration and his seven point Roadmap for a Better Future for Pakistan.  The Prime Minister emphasised the UK’s support for the establishment of democracy in Pakistan, including the strengthening of democratic institutions in the country.

The Prime Minister took this opportunity to remember the death of Benazir Bhutto.  His sympathies remained with the Bhutto family and the people of Pakistan.

The Prime Minister and President Zardari agreed that the UK and Pakistan had a shared agenda in tackling violent extremism in both countries.  They noted that there was a particularly acute problem with extremism emanating from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region.  This had an impact on Pakistan as much as anywhere else, but was also impacting on UK forces in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister and President Zardari noted that it was the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who suffered most directly from such extremism.  It was for the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to lead the efforts to combat this extremism, with the support of the international community.  In this context, the Prime Minister welcomed the early meeting between Presidents Zardari and Karzai and the prospect of improved practical co-operation between the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan on their mutual vulnerability to violent extremism.  The Prime Minister and President agreed that a stable and strong democracy in Pakistan would play an important role in promoting peace in the region.

The Prime Minister and President Zardari welcomed the on-going collaboration between the UK and Pakistani Governments to tackle violent extremism and radicalisation.  They agreed to enhance this cooperation in support of a comprehensive approach by the Government of Pakistan.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 16 September 2008.

Northern Ireland assembly members have been urged by the Prime Minister to grasp the opportunity of devolved government.

Speaking in Belfast earlier this afternoon, the Prime Minister said that prosperity is key to a peaceful future for Northern Ireland.

Mr Brown said that the “end to violence” marked the beginning of growth in Northern Ireland. The continued success in preventing violence is the “precondition of continued growth”, he added.

He called on the politicians from all sides to complete the process of devolution, as it would represent the “clearest sign that democracy will triumph”

“… the completion of devolution is much more than the final step in a process: it is the creation of a whole new permanent future for Northern Ireland.”

The PM will also hold private talks with DUP First Minister Peter Robinson and Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness this afternoon.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 October 2008.

The Prime Minister has appointed Jack Straw as the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion, succeeding new Defence Secretary John Hutton.

The role complements Jack Straw’s position as Secretary of State for Justice. The appointment follows his work as Home Secretary, where he announced a range of anti-corruption measures covering MPs conduct in the House of Commons, and as Foreign Secretary, where in February 2006 he announced UK ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the first global anti-corruption instrument focusing on prevention, criminal law enforcement, international legal co-operation, asset recovery and monitoring.

Jack Straw said:

“I’m honoured to have been asked by the Prime Minister to take on this important role. Promoting integrity, accountability and honesty in public and professional life, as I have always worked to do, will be at heart of my new brief.

“The international business community increasingly realises that a culture of corruption is a disincentive to global investment and trade. The UK is committed to fighting corruption in all its forms.”

The appointment comes as the OECD’s anti-bribery working group meets in Paris this week. At the meeting, the OECD will publish a report on the UK’s progress against recommendations arising from the Phase 2 Review of the UK in March 2004.

Mr Straw described the Government’s ongoing anti-corruption programme to Parliament in a written ministerial statement this morning.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 October 2008.

The Prime Minister has said that his aim throughout the current financial crisis is to “do what I can on the side of hardworking families”.

Speaking to Sky’s Adam Boulton ahead of the EU Council in Brussels, Mr Brown said he hoped to see soon the impact of coordinated intervention in the form of loans for homeowners and small businesses. The PM added that he also hoped to see falling oil prices lead to lower inflation and lower household bills for British families.

The PM also held a press conference with UK media where he stressed the importance of tackling the financial crisis in order to help households paying higher fuel bills, small businesses lacking capital and families unable to get mortgages.

The PM said:

“Let’s never forget we are talking about households that are paying higher fuel bills as a result of global oil prices,  we’re talking about small businesses that are lacking capital because of a global financial crisis, we’re talking about couples and families that cannot get mortgages because of a global crisis, we’re talking about families and communities hit by unemployment because of this global financial crisis.”

Earlier the PM and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso held a press conference where they agreed on the need to take action on the crisis to a second stage of establishing better regulation and an early warning system to root out problem areas in the future.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 16 October 2008.

The EU has agreed to push ahead with urgent reform of the financial system based on the principles of transparency, sound banking, responsibility, integrity and global governance, the PM has said.

Speaking to journalists at the close of the EU Council in Brussels, Mr Brown said that reform was necessary not only to stop a crisis from recurring but also to end the current one. An early warning system should be established through reform of the IMF and the Financial Stability Forum and executives’ pay should no longer contain reward for “excesses and irresponsibility”.

The PM also said that he hoped to see the falling price of oil reflected at the pump, adding that there is still “too much variation in price across our country”. EU leaders had identified dependency on oil as another key issue to be addressed during the Council meeting, he said.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 17 October 2008.

Gordon Brown has sent a message of support to organisers and participants of the Stand Up Take Action campaign that will see tens of millions of people take part in Stand Up Against Poverty events across 100 countries this weekend.

In the message, the PM reiterated the campaign’s call for action to be taken now on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and said there was a “vast amount of effort needed” to get the goals back on track.

The “inspirational” UN summit on the MDGs held in September had shown that it is possible to “create an alliance for action that can and will deliver” on the development targets, he said.

TEXT OF MESSAGE

Thank you all for Standing Up and Taking Action this weekend in support of the Millennium Development Goals.

This weekend marks the focus of this year’s Stand Up Take Action campaign, bringing together citizens from across the world to urge their leaders to take action in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – a set of clear, measurable goals by which the world’s leaders pledged to halve extreme poverty by 2015.

In 2007, 43.7 million people participated in Stand Up worldwide, to express their commitment to ending world poverty. This year, this powerful civil society campaign is asking people to go one step further and take action themselves in their own communities to support the world’s poorest people and raise awareness of some of the key challenges they face – from water and sanitation, to food supply and agriculture, to education and malaria.

Stand Up Take Action is absolutely right that we must act now. We know that the global collective effort on the MDGs is yielding results, even in some of the world’s most challenging regions. But we also know that there is still a vast amount of effort needed if we are to get back on track to meeting the MDGs, particularly in the face of new challenges such as the global economic slowdown, food security and climate change. It is imperative that we do more and that we do it better.

The UK is leading by example. At the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, the G8 committed to work with other donors to increase aid by $50 billion, to $130 billion by 2010. And by 2013, the UK government will reach our target of spending 0.7% of national income on aid. We have clearly laid out our plans to reach this goal and we are encouraging our partners to do likewise.

I was in New York on 25 September for the UN’s High Level Event on global poverty. This was a truly inspirational day that brought together the broadest alliance ever assembled to fight global poverty and resulted in $16 billion pledged to achieving the MDGs. And what the event demonstrated so powerfully is that a coordinated effort is so much more than the sum of its parts and together we can take a coalition of the concerned – governments, faith groups, cities, NGOs, foundations, trusts and businesses – and create an alliance for action that can and will deliver the MDGs.

Thank you for your commitment and for your action. I look forward to continuing to work with GCAP and the Millennium Campaign and our civil society partners to realise the promises we have made to the world’s poor.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 17 October 2008.

The UK must reduce its dependency on oil as an energy source and move to nuclear and renewables, the PM has said.

Speaking to business leaders on a visit to Nottingham, Gordon Brown said the Government’s strategy was to move to a low carbon economy and escape the “dictatorship of oil” by building more nuclear power stations and investing in renewables and the development of technology such as hybrid cars.

Mr Brown also said that it was “absolutely scandalous” for the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) group to consider cutting oil production in a bid to raise prices.

The PM said:

“If you’re dependent for your basic energy needs on a commodity…whose price is being manipulated by a cartel and can be $10 10 years ago, $150 last year and $80 this year, and yet it affects everything that every company does in this country and other countries, you’re in a very difficult position. So our strategy is to reduce our dependence on oil so that we can move to this low carbon economy.”