Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
Cam indud
corded not
CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT LETTER
Type 1 +
To:-
3. All this happened before we received You telegrams nos 788 and 789.
You will, welcome the
general decision, and even the
reservation on
settin
Sir Murray MacLehose KCMG MBE
FROM
Sir Duncan Watson
Telephone No. Ext.
Governor
Hong Kong
DEATH PENALTY IN HONG KONG
Department
1. You will see from my separate confidential letter
in the same bag that Ministers have decided to take
no steps to alter the existing law in Hong Kong
(or in the other dependent territories either).
They explicitly accepted the possibility of further
executions in Hong Kong, and thei request for
information on the growth of capital crimes was made
in the context of the need to override criticism in
Parliament in that event.
2.
Nevertheless Ministers have not finally rule
out the possibility of reprieves by The Queen in
circumstances other than a miscarriage of justice.
They said that although, for the sake of good order
in the Colony, it was important to uphold you in your
decisions, the attitude of Parliament would make it
most carefully my cases which necessary to scrutinise petitions to The Queen
fetime be the mis might
most carefully
3. This will not surprise you It was inherently
unlikely that we ould return unreservedly to the
of
the protest posibil pre-Tsoi position. Viut it dose meer bhat, before you
of a reprieves by the Quein may not surprise you, mythes hepards &
the
works out in practice,
If conther is to be
worded, then
take any decision to let the law take its course, you
will need to be absolutely certain of Ministers'
in the UK. views on current circumstances and on the case in
/question
(17260) Dd.897459 400m 12/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863 (16940) Dd.897300 400m
9/2 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863
CONFIDENTIAL