The Cabinet held a regional Cabinet meeting at BT’s Adastral Park just outside Ipswich, before all the high-ranking Ministers headed out to see community and business projects in Suffolk and Essex.
(Pictured is Prime Minister David Cameron at Archant Suffolk’s Ipswich offices and meeting Nigel Pickover, Terry Hunt, Paul Geater.)
Mr Cameron spent 30 minutes at Archant’s Ipswich offices, discussing local issues with Archant Anglia MD Johnny Hustler, Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover, EADT editor Terry Hunt, and political correspondent Paul Geater. He then enjoyed a tour of the newsroom, where he met a number of journalists, including news editors Brad Jones and Naomi Gornall.
The Prime Minister praised the Evening Star’s campaign for Ipswich to become a Beacon Town in a time of great economic uncertainty. He also talked about the initiatives which have stopped street prostitution in the town, following the Steve Wright murders in 2006.
He even enjoyed a cup of coffee from an Evening Star I Love Ipswich mug!
Nigel Pickover said: "The Prime Minister was as sharp as button on all matters concerning Ipswich and Felixstowe and we are all delighted he knows where Ipswich is, what it can do - and how we can be a Beacon Town in troubled times.
We'd like him to take our campaign across the country where tackling issues like ours can be a big part of the country's road to recovery."
Terry Hunt discussed transport issues with the Prime Minister, in particular the campaign launched last week jointly by the EADT, EDP, Evening Star and Evening News to improve rail services. Terry also asked Mr Cameron about the planned upgrade of sections of the A14, which links the north and the Midlands with Suffolk, and serves Felixstowe Port.
Terry said: “It was a great opportunity to highlight to the Prime Minister the urgent need to improve our transport links, which currently are not good enough in a number of ways. I was very pleased to hear Mr Cameron say that improving the infrastructure was ‘the most important thing’ his government could do for this part of the world.”
