PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
Mr. Laird
The Gouwing En 29,
Hong Kong Bribery Legislation.
2
The submission which I returned to you a few days ago
does raise one procedural point and, I believe, requires
amendment.
2.
There is a long-standing rule that Ministers of a new administration do not have access to documents indicating the views expressed by their predecessors of a different Party. In practice this means that they do not generally have access inter alia to information (orally or written) revealing exactly
what their predecessors have said.
3. We cannot apply this rule with complete rigidity in this office where continuity of policy assumes particular importance and the Minister may need to know what his predecessor has done to decide his own policy. But the rule ought to be observed unless reasons to the contrary should appear decisive in the public interest.
4. It seems to me in view of this rule that we ought not to attach to this submission to Ministers the records of Lord
Shepherd's and Mr. Michael Stewart's discussions in Hong Kong on this Bill, but it would be appropriate to say in the submission that the Governor had personally made representations to
Ministers of the preceding administration when visiting Hong Kong in favour of their accepting the Bill, though those Ministers did not commit themselves to responding to the Governor's representations. We should do this in the context of showing the importance which the Governor attaches to his proposals.
5.
I do not suggest that you should start re-drafting the submission immediately as there may be further amendments to make in the light of Sir James McPetrie's talk with the Attorney General next week.
msm
(L. Momson)
17 July, 1970
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL