Home Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL
LORD
PRIV
FAL
Ente
cc PS/Lord Trefgarne
Mr Adams
Mr Donald
NTD
SAND
SED WIAD
HKR 340/1
13 OCTOB
DESK OFFICES
389A
374
F
NATIONALITY BILL: CBDTS
صل
心か
Pao uti
what the white with t
See 341A
This
388
408
1. I have been following closely the correspondence
between our Departments on ways in which the concerns of the
other Dependent Territories might be met if the House of
Lords 'Gibraltar Amendment' is not in the event reversed.
rests with John Belstead's reply of 1 October to David Trefgarne's letter of 28 September, and I know that they discussed this this (347A afternoon. I thought it would be helpful if I wrote to you to
underline the importance which we attach to this question and to
explain the problems which we anticipate, particularly from Hong
Kong, if no countervailing action is taken.
2. I understand very well the problems of the Home Office in
steering through the final stages of a major and complicated
piece of legislation. I also appreciate the close interest which
you have taken personally in the problems of Hong Kong and the
efforts which you made after Murray MacLehose's visit in March to meet their concerns. As a result of what was done then, Hong
Kong were indeed reconciled to the terms of the Bill and felt
that they could live with their new citizenship status. But that
was before the Gibraltar Amendment was passed. Understandably this revived Hong Kong's concerns because it was seen there, as indeed it has been by HMG, as running counter to the concept, which had been impressed on the Dependent Territories, that all CBDTs
would be treated uniformly.
3. John Belstead explained your anxiety over the immigration imp- lications of any change in nomenclature. I should re-emphasise
what the Governor of Hong Kong and his Unofficial advisers have
made clear, that they are not seeking any improvement in their
/immigration
CONFIDENTIAL