{"id":38588,"date":"2014-02-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=da57472a403c1a714c8c68cc7fead1b9"},"modified":"2014-02-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T00:00:00","slug":"press-release-press-briefing-morning-4-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=38588","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Press briefing: morning 4 February"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The PMS<\/abbr> provided a readout of Cabinet discussions.<\/p>\n

Strikes<\/h2>\n

Asked for the PM<\/abbr>\u2019s view on the London Underground strike, the PMS<\/abbr> said the PM<\/abbr> thought the strike was wrong and Bob Crow should call it off rather than inflict misery on hardworking families in London.<\/p>\n

Putin call<\/h2>\n

Asked about the PM<\/abbr>\u2019s call with President Putin, the PMS<\/abbr> said No10 had issued a readout of the call.<\/p>\n

Drug policy<\/h2>\n

Asked about the PM<\/abbr>\u2019s views on drugs policy, the PMS<\/abbr> said the PM<\/abbr> thought the government had the right approach. Drug use was at the lowest level since records began.<\/p>\n

Scotland<\/h2>\n

Asked about poll ratings regarding Scottish independence, the PMS<\/abbr> said the PM<\/abbr> wanted Scotland to remain part of the UK. Those who shared that view needed to continue making the argument.<\/p>\n

Alcohol<\/h2>\n

Asked why the PM<\/abbr> wanted to make it more expensive for people buying alcohol in supermarkets, the PMS<\/abbr> said there had been issues linked with certain types of promotion leading to very low prices. It was right that the government worked with retailers on a public health matter.<\/p>\n

Flooding<\/h2>\n

Asked about the Environment Agency\u2019s response to flooding, the PMS<\/abbr> said Lord Smith was providing important leadership to the Environment Agency. The PM<\/abbr> very much understood the challenges facing many communities affected by flooding. More than 1.2 million properties had been protected from flood and storm damage since the severe weather began. It was right that the government had acted to make changes to the floodline. <\/p>\n

Agency appointments<\/h2>\n

Asked about appointments made at government agencies, the PMS<\/abbr> said the public appointment process was followed, which was overseen by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Prime Minister\u2019s Spokesperson (PMS) answered questions on strikes, drug policy, Scotland, alcohol policy, and flooding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}