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MEETING BETWEEN MR BLÅKER AND THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG: 10 MARCH 1981
Present
Mr Peter Blaker MP
Mr A E Donald CMG
Mr W J Adams CMG
Mr R D Clift
Mr J M Macgregor
THE MACLENNAN CASE
38011 RECEIVED A SEGUEY NO. 51
OF HONG KONG:
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19 officers
2 3 MAR 1981
DESK OFFICER INDEX
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REGISTRY
Sir Murray Maciehuse GCvo Mr D R Ford MVC QBAS
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Mr. Seirle
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1. Sir M MacLehose described the background to the setting up of the MacLennan Commission of Inquiry and the difficulties which had arisen because the Commissioner had allowed it to drag on and to cover a much wider field than had originally been intended. The Counsel to the Commissioner, Mr Beveridge, had undue influence over Mr Justice Yang, the Commissioner, in this respect. It had been the Governor's clear understanding that the Commissioner intended to hold most of the proceedings in camera but all sessions had in fact been open. This had caused undesirable publicity and subjected individual witnesses to unfair pressures.
2. Sir M MacLehose said that he had now received from the Commissioner a request for enlargement of his terms of reference to allow investi- gation of the methods of operation of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which had been set up to enquire into homosexual offences. In the Governor's view this was entirely unnecessary. Arrangements had already been made for Yang to see any files, including those on the SIU, which he required. Beveridge, however, wanted more than that.
3. Mr Blaker commented that a refusal to enlarge the Commision's terms of reference might be criticised in Parliament. Sir M MacLehose said that the SIU's methods of operation had already been covered in a Police Report which could, if necessary, be published. He saw grave dangers in the enlargement of the Commission's terms of reference in the manner proposed by the Commissioner. Sir M MacLehose said that criticism could be answered by saying that the Police Report was available to the Commission and that action would be taken on it. A further practical argument was that the SIU (which comprised only 4 officers) were totally preoccupied with answering the questions of the Commission and were thus to all intents and purposes inoperative. There need, therefore, be no grounds for public concern that they were currently using improper methos. Their procedures would, of course, be reviewed in the light of the Report.
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Sir M MacLehose said that EXCO were likely, when he put the problem to them on 17 March, to ask the Governor to tell the Commissioner to stick to his terms of reference more strictly and to hold subsequent proceedings in camera. Mr Blaker commented that the in camera
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proposal