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10. Mr Macoun asked the Governor whether the Head of Special Branch
enjoyed direct access to him. ir Peter Ramsbotham confirmed that this was so and that the Head of Special Branch had been to see him
once. It had however been on Sir Peter's own request and he agreed
with Mr MacOun that he should encourage the Head of Special Branch to come to see him on a personal basis as often as he thought necessary
11. Mr Cortazzi said one of the reasons he had raised this point was that the Wooding Commission had commented that the 1968 riots had come as a surprise and that this indicated that the police force was out of touch with the feelings of the masses. Sir Peter Ramsbotham said things had definitely improved. He had a good Special Branch and he thought the quality of the intelligence they provided was high. He
did not think the evidence was available before the riots that they would be as violent and prolonged as they were. Mr Macoun added that the motivation for the rioting changed after the first few hours into a desire to take the opportunity to revolt against the establish- ment. The Governor agreed saying that of the 96 people arrested not one of them had mentioned Burrows and Tacklyn. The riots were largely an expression of strong feelings against the white "haves". He did
not think it could have been foreseen that all these factors would
come together to produce the disturbances on the scale in which they took place.
12.
Mr Mac oun said he was concerned that the programme of the Bermudianization of the police was not proceeding as well as it might. The Governor agreed on the importance of this and said the latest
figures were encouraging. The last intake had been of a high standard.
13. Mr Cortazzi said the meeting accepted the Governor's analysis.
He then raised one of the main issues of concern to Ministers in London, namely the problem of responsibility without power. Ministers were looking very carefully at proposals to delegate further powers to local governments in dependent territories which might detract from the British Government's powers to intervene, unless this delegation was envisaged as part of a definite process leading within a specific
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