Tag: Downing Street

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has announced that the Government “will go further” in providing equipment and support to troops serving in Afghanistan.

In a statement to the House of Commons following his visit to Kandahar and Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Gordon Brown said the Defence Secretary is due to announce plans for more equipment, including specialist counter-IED support.

“The latest tranche of urgent operational funding from the treasury will include an extra £10 million for handheld mine detectors to follow the £12 million set aside earlier this year for new explosive disposal robots, over 30 of which are now in operation. And I can also announce a package of longer-term investment in our counter-IED capability including new facilities for training and for intelligence – an extra 50 millions pounds a year – £150 million in total this year and over the next two years.”

The PM said the announcement follows a doubling in helicopter numbers over the past three years; an increase of almost 80 per cent in mastiff vehicles and double the number of Ridgback vehicles since the summer; and a 20 per cent increase in aerial surveillance to track and target Taleban Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Gordon Brown said he also began preparations with president Karzai on the London conference in January. He said the focus for the conference would be on security, reintegration, economic development, and the coordination of international efforts in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister also thanked British Armed Forces in a year in which “100 of their colleagues have made the ultimate sacrifice”.

On the EU Council meeting held on 10-11 December 2009, the Prime Minister said European leaders addressed the economic recovery and how Europe can move forward a climate change deal at Copenhagen.

Leaders also expressed their “grave concern” over Iran’s nuclear weapons intentions.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 December 2009.

The Prime Minister assured young jobseekers that new measures would bring down unemployment in the coming year during a visit to the Acton Jobcentre Plus in London today.

Whilst hearing the stories of a number of young people who had been helped by their local Jobcentre, he said:

“We really don’t want to have a generation of young people who are out of the labour market for too long because it does hurt ambition and it causes a cycle for the next generation.”

Gordon Brown was joined by Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper as it was announced that 100,000 new jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities for under 25s would be created in 2010.

Yvette Cooper, who today launched the employment white paper “Building Britain’s Recovery, achieving full employment” made the point that youth unemployment has historically continued rising after a recession and should remain a focus for Government:

“Unemployment is around 400,000 lower than we expected it would be at the time of the Budget as a result of a lot of the extra support and help that has been put in place.

“But it is still causing a big problem for families right across the country and we still expect unemployment to keep increasing in the New Year.

“That is why we need to do more to help people, especially young people, get back into work.”

“Our aim is to work with employers to get youth unemployment falling in the second half of next year.”

The Government will guarantee employment or training for all under-25s who have been out of work for six months or more.  The white paper also sets out plans to change the benefits system to help motivate older unemployed people, single parents, carers and those starting up new-businesses.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 15 December 2009.

The Prime Minister is in Copenhagen where he will work towards securing an ambitious agreement that limits global warming to a maximum two degrees.

Gordon Brown is calling on developed and developing countries at the United Nations Climate Conference to work together to advance shared goals at a “critical moment”.

After arriving in Copenhagen, the PM went straight into talks with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and Australian PM Kevin Rudd.

He said:

“It is possible that we will not get an agreement and it is also true that there are many issues to be sorted out. But I am determined – with the conversations I have had already today with President Obama, with Chancellor Merkel, with President Sarkozy, and with President Meles of Ethiopia and now I have been talking to the prime minister of Bangladesh, to do everything I can to bring the world together.”

Shortly before leaving for Copenhagen, the Prime Minister met his Ethiopian counterpart, Prime Minister Meles, who has played an important role in bringing together the views of African countries.

In a statement released after their meeting, Gordon Brown said Africa’s survival now depends on a climate change deal.

“Some degree of climate change cannot now be prevented; but we can avert the utter catastrophe that would be the 4, 5 or 6 degree rise implied by a business as usual path of emissions. And we can provide the nations of Africa with the financial support they need to cope with its effects.”

The PM said he supported proposals presented by Prime Minister Meles, saying they offer a basis for agreement in Copenhagen on the “difficult financing question which lies at the heart of the talks”.

Prime Minister Meles has proposed:

• A commitment to predictable and long-term finance, with a clear trajectory from the fast start period of 2010-12 to 2020. I have argued for this to reach 100 billion euros annually by 2020.
• A commitment to additonality, ensuring that we do not use climate finance to detract from our determination to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
• And a focus on the use of innovative financing mechanisms, such as a global transactions tax, to raise funds.

During the UN Climate Conference Mr Brown will also meet leaders from other African nations and the European Union, the UN Secretary General and representatives from hard-hit, small island states.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 16 December 2009.

Gordon Brown has spoken of the challenges of his role at the Copenhagen climate change summit after initial talks with leaders including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, but says that he is determined to help bring the 192 nations involved to a consensus.

The PM said he hoped there would be an agreement by the end of the week, and a legally-binding treaty within six months.

Gordon Brown emphasised the importance of the talks both for the UK and for the future of the world’s population, and said that he would use his experience to bring countries together to discuss the various issues involved:

“This deal matters for Britain. I think if we could get a carbon change, then it is worth about half a million jobs to Britain in the longer run, so it is worth it for jobs.

“But I also think our children, growing up, going to school every day, I don’t want them to live in a world of floods, of droughts, of extreme weather.

“It is really important, therefore, for Britain that we get this deal and it is important that I do everything I can in the next few days to make that possible.”

He also spoke specifically about helping developing countries after backing Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi’s proposals that African nations receive funding to tackle global warming:

“You have got island states that are evacuating their people in the next few years unless we do something about it.

“You have got refugees in Africa – climate change refugees for the first time – you have got Bangladesh, which faces floods and the loss of land to sea as a result of what is happening.”

Britain has pledged £1.5 billion over the next three years to help kick start anti-global warming measures.

Later today, Gordon  Brown will meet leaders from Bangladesh, Nepal, East Timor, Lesotho, the Maldives and Brazil, as well as attending an EU/African Union meeting.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 18 December 2009.

The Prime Minister said the conditions that would make a climate financing agreement possible were now in place, following a long day of discussions in Copenhagen.

Negotiations continued early into the morning as Gordon Brown and other leaders worked to secure a deal that would limit global temperature rises to two degrees.

The United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen continues today, with US President Barack Obama joining the discussions.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the United States would play its part in a $100 billion dollar-a-year climate financing agreement for developing countries, by 2020.

The PM said:

“We have now got to the position where it is possible that we will get agreement tomorrow on the $10 billion plan to 2012 and the $100 billion, public and private, including the carbon market and international finance.

“We have also made progress in other areas and I believe that the conditions for an agreement are now there.”

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 19 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has pledged to lead an international campaign to turn the agreements established at the Copenhagen summit on climate change into a legally binding treaty.

Speaking at the conclusion of the summit in Denmark late on Friday night, the PM said that nations had made progress and taken a “vital first step” but that more work was needed.

Mr Brown said that the international community had set a target to limit rises in global temperatures by 2050 to two degrees centigrade and for every nation to publish emissions plans to be held up for scrutiny by their peers.

The PM said:

“This is the first step we are taking towards a green and low carbon future for the world, steps we are taking together. First steps are difficult, but they are also necessary.

“Having taken that first step I hope that we can move quickly to the next step which is to get a legally binding treaty.”

US President Barack Obama described an agreement with several nations, including China and Brazil, as “meaningful and unprecedented” but acknowledged that there was “much further to go” in the fight against global warming.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that all nations had signed up to a plan to provide developing nations with up to $100 billion per year in climate change-related aid by 2020 and that follow up meetings to Copenhagen would be held in the German city of Bonn in six months time.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 22 December 2009.

Gordon Brown has spoken of a “low carbon, greener future” for Britain in his latest podcast following the “tough negotiations” of the Copenhagen climate change summit.

The PM talked of the challenges of the summit and stressed that Copenhagen should mark the beginning, not the end, of efforts to keep climate change at the top of the political agenda.

The Prime Minister also looked to the opportunities that the fight against climate change could present for Britain’s economy:

“I am convinced that Britain’s long term prosperity lies in leading the necessary transformation to a low carbon, greener future.

“We must become a global leader not just in financing greener technologies but in the development and manufacture of wind, tidal, nuclear and other low-carbon energy.”

He also urged the global community to “learn lessons” from the previous week’s conference and called for the creation of a central body to chair future talks:

“I believe that in 2010 we will need to look at reforming our international institutions to meet the common challenges we face as a global community.”

In his penultimate podcast of 2009, the Prime Minister expressed his optimism about the coming year, with decreasing crime rates and the recent announcement of new opportunities for job seekers.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 29 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has released a statement condemning the decision to execute Akmal Shaikh, 53, from Kentish Town, north London.

Mr Shaikh was convicted of smuggling heroin into China in 2007 and was executed in Urumqi, north west China, in the early hours of 29 December 2009.

Prime Minister

I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted. I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.

At this time our thoughts are with Mr Shaikh’s family and friends and I send them our sincere condolences.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 30 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has written a letter to Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi in which he says the UK will continue to do everything possible to push for change in Burma.

In the letter, Gordon Brown calls for free and inclusive elections in Burma next year and urges the Burmese regime to engage Aung San Suu Kyi in a genuine dialogue on democracy.

The letter has been handed to the Burmese authorities by the British Embassy in Rangoon – the formal channel by which messages to Aung San Suu Kyi are passed.

TEXT OF LETTER

Dear Daw Suu

You have dedicated the whole of your life to the cause of democracy and freedom in Burma. You have selflessly highlighted the wider suffering of the Burmese people rather than dwelling on your own pain. And through that courage you have gained the respect of the entire international community not just for a person,  but for a cause.

The world knows that as Burma approaches an historic year you will be as resolute as ever in approaching its challenges. If the scheduled elections proceed under a rigged constitution, with opposition leaders excluded and with no international oversight, the military rulers will be condemning Burma to more years of diplomatic isolation and economic stagnation.

But if the elections are genuinely inclusive, free and fair, then the whole of the international community is ready to stand with Burma, welcome her back into the community of nations, and contribute to rebuilding her future and prosperity. It is clear this is the only path which will lead to Burma’s future security, stability and progress for all her people.

Sadly, as the year turns, the signs do not look good. Your continuing detention is only the most visible evidence of the bad faith of a regime which has so far shown no signs of listening to regional or international calls for an end to its violent behaviour.

I continue to call upon the regime to engage with you and allow you further contact with diplomats in Rangoon, and to start a genuine dialogue that can give the Burmese people back their future and their hope.

You have asked us to use our freedom to secure the freedom of the Burmese people. I assure you that as we move into a new year and a new decade the United Kingdom will continue to do everything possible to advance positive change and genuine democracy in your country.

As you have said, there is so much that needs to be done in a Burma that cannot afford to wait.

We are immovably with you – and with the Burmese people.

Yours sincerely

Gordon Brown

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 30 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has paid tribute to those who have worked to secure the release of a British man held hostage in Iraq for over two-and-a-half years.

Peter Moore from Lincoln was working in Iraq as an IT consultant when he was taken hostage along with four British bodyguards at the finance ministry in Baghdad in 2007.

The Prime Minister has spoken to Peter Moore by phone, telling him he hoped he would be reunited with his family as soon as possible.

In a statement, the PM said:

“I am hugely relieved by the wonderful news that Peter has been freed, and will be reunited with his family as quickly as possible. They have faced a terrible ordeal, and I know that the whole nation will share their joy that he is coming home. I pay tribute to all those who helped in the protracted effort to secure the release.

“At this moment of celebration, we also remember the families of British hostages who have been killed in Iraq and elsewhere. And we pledge to continue to do everything we can to bring British hostages back to their loved ones, including the remaining hostage of the group in Iraq, Alan McMenemy. I demand that the hostage takers return him to us.”

The Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Mr Moore was in good health after his lengthy ordeal and is now with the British Embassy in Iraq.

“Peter was set free by his captors this morning in Baghdad and delivered to the Iraqi authorities. He is now in the care of the British Embassy in Baghdad.”

In June the bodies of security guards Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst were passed to British authorities, followed by the body of Alec MacLachlan in September.