of his senior staff to give her all the help she needed.
This officer went with her to the Treasury in Hong Kong
to help her in obtaining
letters of administration and he cleared her
visit to the Probate Office of the High Court by advance
telephone calls.
The Secretary for the Civil Service has also
pointed out that the Hong Kong Government have already
treated Mrs Penhearow more generously in a number of
respects than they were strictly required to under the
terms of her husband's appointment. For example, they
paid for her daughter and grand-daughter to fly back with
her when she returned to England, and they also paid for
a hire-car to take her from Heathrow to her home in
Dorset. These extra expenses came to nearly £400
altogether.
Whilst I have great sympathy with Mrs Penhearow,
it does seem to me that the Hong Kong Government have
treated her with understanding and generosity, and I
do not feel therefore that I can press them to make a
further payment which could establish a very difficult
precedent for them if it became known that they were prepared to compensate individuals for losses caused
by fluctuations in exchange rates.