Laura Meckler.

Q    Thank you.  Mr. President, in your opening statement you referred to the fact that the British government has been taking some very tough steps towards -- to get their budget in order, and you said you had committed to cut the deficit¹ in half. Could you talk about whether you think that those decisions are going to be -- the decisions that they’re making there are going to be needed to be made here on a similar level beyond pledges?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, specifically could you address the matter of what role BP had in lobbying（游说） for the release of this man, and whether an inquiry² or the review that you’re planning is going to look at that specific question?  Thank you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  When I came into office in January of 2009, I was very clear at the time, even before we knew the severity of the recession that we would experience, that we have a structural³ deficit that is unsustainable, and that for our long-term growth and prosperity we are going to have to get a handle on that.  I talked about that during my campaign.  I talked about it in the days after I was elected.  I talked about it after I had been sworn in.

We had an emergency situation on our hands, and so the entire world, working through the G20, coordinated⁵（调整，调和） in making sure that we filled this huge drop-off in demand.  We got the economy growing again.  And we had to take a number of steps, some of which were unpopular and that, yes, added to the short-term deficit.

What I also said at the time was we are then going to make sure, number one, that we pay down whatever additional deficit had been added as a consequence of the Recovery Act and other steps that we had to take last year.  But then we’re still going to have to go back and deal with these long-term structural deficits⁶.

And, in fact, in the first G20 visit that I made, in April to England, I was very clear to the rest of the world that what they cannot rely on is an economic model in which the United States borrows -- consumers in the United States borrow, we take out home equity⁷ loans, we run up credit cards to purchase（购买，赢得） goods from all around the world.  We cannot alone be the economic engine for the rest of the world’s growth.  So that rebalancing ended up being a central part of our long-term strategy working with the G20.

Now, what we’ve done is we’ve initiated⁸ a freeze on our domestic discretionary budget（弹性预算） .  We are on the path to cutting our deficits in half.  We have put forward a fiscal⁹（会计的，财政的） commission that is then going to examine how do we deal with these broader structural deficits.  So this isn’t just an empty promise.  We’ve already started taking steps to deal with it, and we’re going to be very aggressive in how we deal with it.

Now, our two countries are in slightly different situations. Their financial situation is slightly different; their levels of debt relative to GDP are somewhat higher.  And as David and I discussed when we saw each other in Toronto, the goal here is the same, and we’re all moving in the same direction.  But there’s going to be differentiation¹⁰ based on the different circumstances of different countries in terms of how they approach it tactically and at what pace.

But I can assure you this, that my administration is squarely committed not just to dealing¹¹ with the short-term deficit and debt -- which in some ways is the least troubling aspect of this problem -- what we’re going to have to tackle are some big structural reforms that are going to be tough.  And they're going to be that much tougher because we’re coming out of a recession as we do it.  But I think that as we continue to see economic growth, as we continue to see the economy heal from last year, that the American people are going to want to approach this problem in a serious, realistic（现实的，逼真的） way.  We owe it for the next generation.

And my hope is, is that we’re going to end up getting a bipartisan（两党连立的） solution to this thing that is realistic.  And one concern that I have obviously is the politics of deficits and debt.  When I announced that I was in favor of this fiscal commission, at the time I had a number of Republicans who were cosponsors（共同赞助者） of the legislation who suddenly reversed themselves because -- I suppose -- I supported it.

And, fortunately, what I’ve seen so far, all the reports from the fiscal commission is that people are serious about this. Both Republicans and Democrats¹² on the commission are taking their task seriously.  I think it’s going to be a good report, but is still going to require some tough choices, and we’re committing to pursuing those tough choices after we get that report.

PRIME MINISTER CAMERON:  Thank you.  You asked about the role of BP.  I mean, the role of BP and any lobbying they might have done is an issue for BP and an issue that they should explain themselves.  I mean, the decision to release Megrahi, though, was a decision made by the Scottish government, and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that the Scottish government were in any way swayed（影响，动摇） by BP.  They were swayed by their considerations about the need to release him on compassionate¹⁴ grounds -- grounds that I think were completely wrong.  I don’t think it’s right to show compassion¹³ to a mass murderer like that. I think it was wrong.

But it’s a matter for BP to answer what activities they undertook.  But the Scottish government made its decision and has explained its decision on many occasions and I’m sure will explain it again.

I’m very keen that we are clear here that BP should, rightly, be blamed for what has happened in the Gulf¹⁵, and have real responsibilities to cap the well, to clean up the spill, to pay compensation -- all of which they are getting on with, including putting aside the 20 billion pounds in the escrow account（条件交付帐户） -- $20 billion -- sorry.  I think they’ve made good progress on that and further progress needs to be made.

I think it’s important to separate that from the decision to release al-Megrahi, which, as I say, was a decision made by the Scottish government and, as so far has been shown in investigations¹⁶ by the Scottish parliament, was a decision which I wholly disagree with but, nonetheless, was taken in an appropriate way.

I think we have a question from Tom Bradby.

Q    Mr. President, Tom Bradby, ITV News.  Quite a lot of people in the U.K. feel that your determination as a country to continue to push for the extradition¹⁷ of computer hacker¹⁸ and  Asperger’s sufferer, Gary McKinnon is disproportionate and somewhat harsh.  Do you think it is time now to consider some leniency¹⁹ in this case?

And, Prime Minister, you’ve expressed very strong views on this matter, suggesting that Mr. McKinnon shouldn’t be extradited（引渡） .  Your Deputy Prime Minister has expressed even stronger views.  Did you discuss that with the President today?  And if not, would now be a good moment to share your views with us once again?

PRIME MINISTER CAMERON:  Shall I go?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Please, go ahead.

PRIME MINISTER CAMERON:  It is something that we discussed in our meeting.  I mean, clearly there’s a discussion going on between the British and the Americans about this, and I don't want to prejudice those discussions.  We completely understand that Gary McKinnon stands accused of a very important and significant crime in terms of hacking²⁰ into vital databases.  And nobody denies that that is an important crime that has to be considered.  But I have had conversations with the U.S. ambassador, as well as raising it today with the President, about this issue, and I hope a way through can be found.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, one of the things that David and I discussed was the increasing challenge that we’re going to face as a consequence of the Internet and the need for us to cooperate extensively on issues of cybersecurity.

We had a brief discussion about the fact that although there may still be efforts to send in spies and try to obtain state secrets through traditional Cold War methods, the truth of the matter is these days, where we’re going to see enormous vulnerability when it comes to information is going to be through these kind of breaches²¹ in our information systems.  So we take this very seriously.  And I know that the British government does, as well.

Beyond that, one of the traditions we have is the President doesn’t get involved in decisions around prosecutions²², extradition matters.  So what I expect is that my team will follow the law, but they will also coordinate⁴ closely with what we’ve just stated is an ally that is unparalleled（无比的，无双的） in terms of our cooperative relationship.  And I trust that this will get resolved in a way that underscores the seriousness of the issue, but also underscores the fact that we work together and we can find an appropriate solution.

All right?  Thank you very much, everybody.

PRIME MINISTER CAMERON:  Thank you very much.

END
2:31 P.M. EDT