Brown reveals arrival of British planes in Burma during PMQs
Gordon Brown has revealed that British planes have just arrived in Burma to deliver aid, with three more set to get there in the next few hours.
The announcement comes during today’s prime minister’s questions.
He also called on the Burmese authorities to allow in more aid.
David Cameron commended the actions, but called on Mr Brown to take the matter of Burma’s intransigence to the UN security council.
“I don’t rule out anything,” Mr Brown replied.
Mr Cameron said a deadline should be set for how much aid is getting through. He said the UN had a responsibility to protect, and that Mr Brown should press for that responsibility to be extended to the Burmese people at this time.
“We must not fall for the immpression there is some easy answer in aid drops,” Mr Brown warned.
But he added: “I rule out nothing.”
Mr Clegg moved on to call yesterday’s mini-budget a “complete charade… over a million of the people in this country are still worse off – Don’t they matter?”
Mr Brown moved on to defend his actions offsetting average losses. “We are the only government that is taking people out of poverty,” he continued.
Mr Cameron then questioned Mr Brown on whether Carloine Flint, housing secretary was being honest with people when she told them housing was strong in the UK, after a photographer took a snap a folder she was carrying with predictions of severe drops in house prices.
“Yesterday we all payed three billion pounds to keep the prime minister in his job, so the least he could do is answer some questions,” Mr Cameron continued.
Mr Cameron then asked the prime minister if yesterdays mini-budget was motivated by the upcoming Crewe by-election.
Mr Cameron mocked Mr Brown when he denied it.
Mr Cameron then turned his fire on the confusion over Mr Brown and Wendy Alexander’s comments on a Scottish referendum.
There is no plan to put legislation forward on a referendum, Mr Brown said. He then berated Mr Cameron for not not supporting Labour against the nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland.
“We’re seeing a prime minister putting short term decisions in front of the national interst,” Mr Cameron replied.
Asked by a Tory MP if he had made any mistakes recently, Mr Brown admitted regretting the 10p tax rate decision, but claimed his government’s performance was considerably better than that of the Tories when they were in power.
Mr Brown could not confirm whether he was visiting Crewe and Nantwich in the next few days. His response provoked loud jeers of laughter from the opposite bench.
Mr Brown was also challenged on his decision to host the Dalai Lama in Lambeth Palace, instead of Downing Street.
“All issues of substance relating to our views of what’s happening in Tibet will be on the table,” Mr Brown replied.
Conservative calls for Mr Brown to call Boris Johnson to congratulate him on his win in the London Mayoral elections were met by a stoney faced response.
