omission of this long-used nationality description may
have a psychological effect. I can only assure you that it has no practical one and no effect on the commitment
of HMG, and I do trust that you and your colleagues will do everything you can to impress this fact on any members of the public who share your concern.
With regard to your last paragraph, I cannot give
assurances about such a hypothetical situation. I
believe it to be too far off in time, and the circumstan-
ces too difficult to foresee for this to be possible. But
I can assure you that the addition of 'British National'
to the passport of a CBDT would not in any way affect the
extent of the help that HMG would give. In view of the
sensitivity of this subject, I strongly urge you not to suggest, even in private, that any such connection could
exist. To do so would be most misleading.
As you know, this subject has been given the most
careful consideration here. The importance which we attach to your position is shown by the references which
were made by Ministers in the Third Reading Debate in the
House of Commons on 4 June. Mr Whitelaw said:
"I do however, want to stress yet again that the
Bill in no way alters the United Kingdom's special
relationship with her dependencies. Our moral and
constitutional ties with them, both individually and
collectively, remain as strong as ever."
In the same Debate Mr Raison said:
"I turn now to the assurances sought by my
/Honourable