E
Nightingale and that the case against her was manufactured.
4. I have examined the file. Some of the papers must remain
confidential because they refer to persons suspected of drug
trafficking who are currently under investigation.
But we can shov
Mr Hallmark some of the papers (attached). These cover
(i)
the questioning of Chan at Kai Tak airport;
(ii) the discovery that he was travelling with Rita Nightingale;
(iii) the tip-off telegrams sent to the Bangkok and French customs;
(iv) the attempt, following his arrest in Bangkok, to find evidence
in Hong Kong to enable the Bangkok police to continue to hold
him.
These show that there was nothing improper in the action taken by
the Hong Kong authorities. There is also nothing in the papers to
suggest that Rita Nightingale knew she was acting as a courier but
at her trial she denied previously knowing or even speaking to
Chan.
5. The question raised in Mr Hallmark's letter of 3 May to
Mrs Castle about the possibility of the legal aid scheme in the UK
being extended to cover UK nationals facing charges overseas in a
matter for Merlyn Rees.
6. We have enquired again about the date when the Appeal Court's
decision will be announced. This may not now be until the end of
the year.
7. A second application for bail against a surety of £16,300 put
up by a Swiss Medical Foundation through the international lawyer,
Dr Haas, was turned down on 26 May. A third application was made,
/on
2