Tag: Downing Street

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 20 October 2008.

The European Union has a “shared understanding” of the ongoing crisis in financial markets and is committed to reforming the global financial system, the PM has said.

Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister said that EU leaders convening in Brussels at last week’s EU Council had agreed to provide medium term lending guarantees in member states similar to those extended by the Government in the UK.

The PM said:

“At the heart of our considerations was our shared understanding that the massive reduction in global financial activity and the fracturing of the global financial system has been the result of irresponsible and often undisclosed lending that started in American sub prime markets.

“And while national action is necessary, the root problem can only be dealt with only changes in our financial systems – to recapitalise banks and to reform provision around the principle of rewarding hard work enterprise and responsible risk taking but not irresponsibility and excess.”

Mr Brown said that the EU also reached “important conclusions” on energy and climate change, affirming its commitment to reach agreement by December on its 2020 climate change package. World leaders will gather in Copenhagen next year to take forward efforts to replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change that expires in 2012.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 21 October 2008.

Gordon Brown welcomed Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to Downing Street today for bilateral talks.

The two leaders discussed a range of issues including the global financial crisis, ongoing negotiations for a Cyprus settlement and the Balkans. The PM welcomed Dr Karamanlis’ intervention in the Greek banking system as part of a European-wide effort to “restore confidence” in the EU financial system.

Mr Brown said the UK and Greece also supported EU membership for countries such as Turkey where membership criteria are met.

The PM said:

“Greece is one of Britain’s important European partners.  Not only do we have a long history of friendship through difficult times, but we also work together on many of today’s international issues.

“I applaud Dr Karamanlis’ intervention in the Greek banking system as contributing to the European-wide effort to restore confidence in the EU financial system. We have also discussed the need for long-term reform in addition to short-term measures to re-stabilise the Global Economy.

“Dr Karamanlis and I both strongly support the efforts to achieve a just and lasting Cyprus settlement.  And we both agree with the importance of encouraging countries in South Eastern Europe, including Turkey, to join the European Union when they can meet the membership criteria.”

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 21 October 2008.

The Government has announced a package of help, including £350 million for training initiatives, for small and medium-sized businesses struggling with the effects of the credit crunch.

The funding will come from the Train to Gain programme, which is scheduled to grow to £1 billion by 2011. Other measures announced today include free “health checks” for businesses in England, financial information from the Institute of Credit Management and a public sector drive to pay firms within 10 days.

The announcements comes as the Prime Minister visited the Kent Science Park in Sittingbourne, accompanied by Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and Skills Secretary John Denham, for a Q&A with local business leaders.

Addressing guests at the event, the PM said that the Government had been “dealing with the drying up of money for businesses” through intervention in the banking system and that it expected lending to start again.

Recently appointed Business Secretary Peter Mandelson added that the Government understood how small businesses were facing “tough times” and that the support announced today would help ensure they are “healthy enough to survive and come out strongly at the other side”.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 22 October 2018.

Gordon Brown welcomed Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar, to 10 Downing Street today.

The two leaders discussed a range of issues including the world economy, climate change and the situation in Sudan and Darfur.

Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani became Prime Minister of Qatar in April 2007.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 23 October 2008.

Gordon Brown has told Great Britain’s Paralympians that their successes in Beijing “filled the nation with so much pride” and that they are an “inspiration to us all”.

Speaking to the athletes at a reception at the British Museum on Wednesday, the PM said that the dedication displayed by team GB augured well for the nation’s prospects in 2012 when the next Olympiad will take place in London.

The PM said:

“You are inspiring young people, many talented young people who previously didn’t know that they could also with their potential succeed in athletics. And your inspiration as role models to young people, not just in your own communities but right round the country, is something that augurs so well for our country in the future.”

Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, also at the reception, said that all people knew the athlete’s success did not come about by chance but through their “dedicated determination and talent”.

Great Britain won 102 medals at the Beijing Paralympics, of which 42 were gold, and finished second behind China in the overall medal table.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 23 October 2008.

Gordon Brown has welcomed NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to 10 Downing Street for bilateral talks.

The two leaders discussed a range of issues including Afganistan, NATO-Russia relations and the prospects for NATO reform. Talks also touched on wider security matters and the impact of the global economic crisis.

Mr de Hoop Scheffer was appointed NATO Secretary General in January 2004.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 24 October 2008.

Gordon Brown has said that his “undivided attention” is on helping people through the economic slowdown and that the UK is better placed than many countries to deal with the current economic crisis thanks to its low national debt.

Speaking to Sky news earlier today, the PM said that the UK was fighting a recession and that he was determined to do “everything possible” to tackle the ongoing economic problems.

Mr Brown repeated his opposition to a cut in oil production, a step announced by OPEC today, but noted that oil prices were falling and said he wanted to see those falls passed on to consumers through lower prices.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 27 October 2008.

Gordon Brown has stressed the importance of “new thinking” in order to deal with the credit crunch and equip the UK economy for success in the 21st century.

Speaking to business leaders and academics at Imperial College, London the PM said the Government was taking the right long-term decisions on issues such as nuclear power, the planning system and infrastructure projects such as Crossrail. Providing skills and training will also help meet demand for labour in areas such as the environment and technology, sectors that could boost employment just as IT did in the 90s, he said.

Mr Brown added that the credit crunch had revealed not only an issue with liquidity but also a systemic problem in financial markets that can only be tackled through global reform. Steps that should be taken include the creation of an early-warning system and the making the International Monetary Fund more like a central bank, he said.

The issue of financial reform will dominate the agenda at a special international summit to be hosted by US President George Bush in November.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 27 October 2008.

Downing Street has played host to a range of protoype electric cars as the Government released details of a number of initiatives to encourage greener motoring.

The PM was shown each of the cars and given an explanation of an electric charging point. Earlier, at an International Experts Meeting, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon set out the next steps of a £100 million commitment to the development of greener vehicles.

Speaking at the convention, Mr Hoon said:

“Electric cars and other low carbon vehicles, like plug-in hybrids, cut fuel costs and reduce harmful emissions. If we can inspire more people to use them, it will help us to make a positive impact on climate change.

“Alongside this, their research and manufacture is an emerging industry with the potential to create new jobs and safeguard existing employment in the UK. Therefore exploring how to ensure they are a practical and affordable everyday option makes sense all round. That is what the cross Government package of measures announced today will do.”

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 28 October 2008.

Gordon Brown has called upon the international community to provide “substantial additional resources” to deal with the fallout from the current global financial crisis.

Speaking to journalists in Downing Street, the PM said that the International Monetary Fund’s standard arrangement to provide up to $250 billion may not be enough to ease the credit crunch and restore confidence to international markets.

Countries should be prepared to provide more support, particularly countries such as China and those in the Gulf that have built up significant resources in recent years, he said.

Mr Brown said he had discussed his proposal with the IMF, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whom he will meet for talks in Paris later today. The matter will also be raised on a tour of Gulf states this weekend and later with Premier Wen of China, he added.

The PM said:

“In the last few days I have discussed the risk of contagion and the need to stabilise economies right across Eastern Europe.

“It is clear that the whole of the international community must have an interest in stopping this contagion, to prevent the worsening of the global economic downturn. That is why it is vital that the international authorities – particularly the IMF – play a central role in supporting those economies at this time.

“It is in every nation’s interest and in the interests of hard-working families in our country and every country that financial contagion does not spread.”

The PM will also travel to the US in mid-November for a major international summit on the financial crisis to be hosted by President Bush.