Number 10 Lobby briefing on Brexit, Harvey Weinstein and ONS report on UK wealth
3 min read
Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for Lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.
BREXIT
On the Prime Minister's dinner in Brussels this evening with Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier, the spokesman said the engagement had been in her diary "a number of weeks".
"It's a private dinner that will cover a range of topics," he said. "You can expect them to talk about Iran, counter-terrorism and the internet, and you can expect them to talk about the Prime Minister's Florence speech and the progress which has been made since then.
"They will be talking about a range of topics which are of importance to the EU ahead of the Council. If you look over the course of the past month or more, there's been a series of engagements between the Prime Minister and European leaders. She met with Donald Tusk at UNGA, she met with Chancellor Merkel in Tallin, she also met with the Polish PM in recent days. She's spoken with PM Rutte, she's spoken with Angela Merkel yesterday morning, with Donald Tusk on Thursday evening, and you can expect her to have conversations with other European leaders today and going forward.
"The PM said her Florence speech was intended to create momentum, we believe you have seen that. It's been received very constructively by the EU27 and by the Commission, and in the talks last week we made more progress towards finding a solution on citizens' rights, which the PM has said is a priority. This is part of a wider programme of engagements you've seen in recent weeks and will continue to see going forward. We've always said we want Britain leaving the European Union to be a smooth process and this is part of achieving that."
Asked whether Mrs May will make a fresh offer on the size of the Brexit divorce bill, the spokesman said: "The PM set out her position in the Florence speech in relation to the settlement and that's where we are. The point of the dinner is to discuss a range of subjects."
Asked about Chris Grayling's comments yesterday that British farmers will produce more food to keep prices down if there is a no-deal Brexit, the spokesman said: "We're confident that we'll achieve a deal that works in the interests of the UK and the EU. We're committed to getting the best possible deal that allows us to continue to have tariff-free trade in goods and services and trade which is as frictionless as possible, and that we will strike new trade deals around the world to help farmers take advantage of the growing appetite for British food."
HARVEY WEINSTEIN
The spokesman said the Prime Minister had no plans to recommend that Harvey Weinstein lose his honorary CBE in the wake of sex assault allegations against him.
He said: "This is a process independent of us and the discussions that the forfeitures committee consider are confidential. The reports are deeply concerning. Any unwanted sexual activity is completely unacceptable. The allegations should be fully investigated and anyone who comes forward to report these kinds of allegations should be praised for their courage."
ONS
On an ONS report suggesting the UK is half a trillion pounds poorer than previously thought, the spokesman said: "The changes from the ONS are very technical. What they don't do is change the underlying economic position, which is that the UK economy is strong. The data was released more than a fortnight ago and the FTSE and Sterling are broadly unchanged over that period. The UK remains one of the top places to do business, according to the World Economic Forum, and has significant strengths in digital technology and jobs."
