Number 10 lobby briefing on passports, steel tariffs and Russia
3 min read
Here is a summary of this morning briefing for lobby journalists by a spokesman for the Prime Minister.
PASSPORTS
On reports that a French company is set to win the contract to produce new blue UK passports after Brexit, the spokesman said: "We're still in the process of running a fair and open competition to ensure that the new contract delivers a high quality product which offers the best value for money for the taxpayer. But I am restricted from commenting on detail on a procurement process which is still ongoing. Our passports are routinely redesigned every five years and the terms of that have been transparent."
The spokesman said Downing Street had "noted the comments" of the head of De La Rue, the British company bidding for the work, who called on Theresa May to visit his factory in Gateshead to explain the decision to his workers.
Asked if the Prime Minister was willing to personally intervene, the spokesman said: "No, what it simply means is they have made comments this morning and I'm restricted from commenting on detail. We're in the process of running a fair and open competition and that process is continuing."
On UK firms not being able to bid for the contract to print French passports, the spokesman said: "The French passport is produced by the French state-owned printer so they wouldn't outsource this work, so that is the key difference."
STEEL TARIFFS
Asked if the Prime Minister has a message for UK steel workers as new US tariffs on steel come into force, the spokesman said: "We have been clear that tariffs are not the right way to address the global problem of over-capacity, which requires a multi-lateral solution. We are continuing to work with EU partners to make the case for exemptions, including an EU-wide exemption and we are working with all the sectors involved to robustly defend our industries and demonstrate the importance of their high quality products."
RUSSIA
Asked if Boris Johnson comparing Russia to Nazi German could make it harder to build an EU-wide coalition against Vladimir Putin, the spokesman said: "We will continue our work with allies on a co-ordinated response. The PM will tell the European Council this incident has shown the threat that Russia pose to our national security. We want to work with our EU allies to uphold and protect the international rules-based order."
On whether England football fans are safe to attend the World Cup in Russia, the spokesman said: "We're working with the Russian authorities running this event to ensure fans are safe."
On comments from Russia that Mr Johnson is "poisoned with hatred", the spokesman said: "I think we've seen a number of statements from Russia officials at all levels, but I think what's important is that Russia takes the proper action we have called for. That should be the focus. We will continue to abide by the rule of law."
