Registry
No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT
MINUTE
Type 1 +
FROM
To:-
Mark Carlisle Esq QC MP HOME OFFICE
Mr Royle
Telephone No. Ext.
In Confidence
THE FUGITIVE OFFENDERS ACT
1.
Department
Copy to:
Rt Hon Sir Peter Rawlinson QC MP Aottorney General
1KK 3/548/150
Flag
Pare T
B
Our Departments have been in correspondence
about the double criminality rule in the Act, which
has recently prevented us from sending back to
Hong Kong a police officer charged under their
Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. As you know, this
was one of the problems for our relations with Hong
Kong which was covered in Alec Douglas-Home's minute to the Prime Minister of 20 September. Subsequently
at the meeting of officials called by the Cabinet
Office to consider the minute it was agreed that we would explore this question further with your
Department.
2. The reaction of your officials has been that
to change the law to catch Godber, the police officer concerned, would be very difficult. They have argued
that retrospective legislation, designed to catch one man, would be bound to give us trouble in Parliament.
Godber might anyway bolt before the legislation went
through. Moreover the offence of which he is accused
in Hong Kong the possession of unexplained resources
by a public officer is one which is foreign to the general law of this country.
-
(3001) Dd.145244 400m 8/73 L.Ltd. Gp.839
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
CONFIDENTIAL
13.
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