420
Mr Clift
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433
Reference
Pac
Juke
an minday
Mr. Chips Thanks Thu Thand
wära winter
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: BRIEFING THE PRESS
hillche
Mou denni myl to dismes
within o/r. No 12/1,
S12
1. I am sorry I have not come back to you sooner on Mr Goulden's minute of 12 July.
2. On balance I am in favour of the idea of briefing, on a strictly 'not for writing basis', the editors of the four heavies. We do not want a lot of disgruntled editors on our hands and
if they can really be trusted the exercise may help to reduce some of the wilder assertions which appear in the British media from time to time, particularly about how the talks are going. Even if the editors were not able to stop their writing journalists producing nonsense from time to tome they would be in a better position to produce more balanced editorials.
3. I have discussed this with Mr Thomson in FED. He agrees.
4.
I am not sure that I agree with paragraph 4 of Mr Goulden's minute, ie that any briefing would have to be done by Ministers preferably the Secretary of State. I should have thought that Mr Donald, or Mr Donald and the PUS, might be just as good. However,
I do agree, albeit somewhat reluctantly, that we shall need to seek the Prime Minister's approval, particularly if the briefings are carried out by Ministers.
5. Finally I do not see this briefing of the editors as a substitute for our continuing to see from time to time (less
officially) sensible journalists from papers like the Financial Times. and The Economist. Both, particularly The Economist, have produced one or two useful pieces. I hope these briefings will continue.
2 August 1983
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W Morris
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