ir L Monson
Covering CUIFIDENTIAL
34
1.
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No. 51 24 JAN 1972
AKKO/SUP/
There are only three points on which I have any comments
(a) The passage at the top of page 2. In fact neier
Mr Nicholas hidley nor Mr Grant is directly responsible for textiles. Mr Philip Ridley reports to Sir John Eden, the Minister of Sute. I suggest that the passage should run as follows
"I believe that Tony Royle also spoke in the same sense to Nicholas Kidley, Parliamentary Under- Secretary at the DTI concerned with the issue"
(b) The passage in paragraph 5 at the bottom of page 3.
I think that it would be true to say that we moved the DTI much more during the week of negotiations than we had during our preliminary meetings. Maybe the preliminary meetings had a softening up effect. I know that Mr Hale thinks that under our pressure Mr Philip Rilley went far further to meet Hong Kong than he had intended before the talks began and even as late as the Neunesday of that week. I suggest therefore that you might say -
11 ..... such efforts by our team in advance of and during the last talks (......) the DTI could not have been brought to meet Philip as far as they did
I
(c) The position of the unofficial advisers - paragraph 6.
Mr Philip kidley told us before the talks began that he personally would have no objection if the Hong Kong officials were to be accompanied in the conference room by their unofficial advisers. myself would be prepared to accept the risk that the hard bargaining (in the presence of the advisers) might have undesirable effects from the point of view of improving Hong Kong /UK relations. I should record however that Mr Haddon-Cave made it quite clear at the beginning of the talks last week that he did not wish to have the advisers present in the conference room during the negotiations. I must confess that I have some sympathy with this view. I think that Hong Kong would have to speak with one voice during the actual negotiations and if any unofficial adviser disagreed with what the leader of the Hong Kong delegation was saying he would have to express his views privately to the leader either by passing a message to him during the meeting or else by seeking an adjournment.
20 January 1972
E O Laird
Hong Kong Department