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employed with a business or other organisation based in the UK. The
Home Secretary fears that such a provision is open to abuse, with
immigration consequences; and so as to be able to resist pressures
to extend the provision for businessmen still further he believes it
essential that other groups apart from Crown Servants should not be
given better treatment than UK businessmen.
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6. Subject to the Parliamentary draftmen's wording the Crown
Servants' provision will now cover British Council staff and members
of HMOCS. For the other groups
members of certain international
organisations, including the European institutions, OSAS personnel,
and UK-recruited staff employed by colonial governments (other than
HMOCS) - the Home Office are prepared to give similar treatment to
that for businessmen. CRD, ODA, HK&GD (representing the
dependencies) and UND and the British Council would be content with
these arrangements. (ODA and the British Council point out that they
recruit some staff for employment overseas who might claim that their
position is analogous to OSAS officers; but these fringe categories
are probably inevitable wherever the line is drawn.)
7. However, Mr Spreckley has argued strongly that British citizens working for European Community institutions should be equated with
Crown Servants for the purpose of this provision. His views are at
Flag A. However I do not think that their position is completely analogous to that of Crown Servants sent overseas to work (mainly
members of HM Forces serving overseas and the staff of our diplomatic
missions). The Home Office have no doubt that the Home Secretary
would be strongly opposed to equating the staff of European
institutions with Crown Servants and thus effectively giving them
better treatment than UK businessmen overseas. Mr Whitelaw
apparently fears that this would jeopardize the provision that he
has made for businessmen and, that this could undermine the structure
of the very limited provisions for transmission of citizenship to
children born overseas which are a feature of the new legislation.
8. I also think this could jeopardize the Crown Service provision
which is important to the Diplomatic Service, and has been urged on
/the Secretary
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