CONFIDENTIAL
4.
as
Mr Flesher said that he and other Home Office officials had been considering making a further approach to Mr Waddington after Mr Hocké's visit, So that a response to the Foreign Secretary could be sent in the light of that visit as well that of Mr Waddington's visit to Hong Kong. But he could see that it would put HMG in a much stronger position vis-a-vis Mr Hocké if a decision in principle could be taken before next week that, at least for a period, resettlement would continue. He said he would draft a submission to Mr Waddington as quickly as possible. He thought it would probably be better if this were a Home Office in-house affair: my letter to Mr Morris about the meetings in Geneva had been useful, but he did not think anything further from the FCO would help the case.
5.
Mr McDowell added that a case to Mr Waddington could include the fact that there was a cumulative total of about 90 resettlement places allocated in the last two years to the RASRO programme which had not been taken up: if these places were filled from SCORRI-qualified refugees, that need not appear as a "new commitment". There was also the SCORRI undertaking that HMG would consider accepting a "further small number" of refugees in the light of other countries' responses to our acceptance of the 500 odd post-SCORRI cases. But that might well be regarded by Home Office and other Ministers as a "new commitment" which they would want to consider collectively.
6.
It was left that Mr Flesher would see whether Home Office Ministers could be brought to accept continued resettlement, if not at 40 per month, then at 30 or 20, in advance of Mr Hocke's visit.
If so, he would let me know and we could amend our brief for FCO Ministers.
Muthony
hayden
A M Layden
Hong Kong Department
233 4381
23 October 1986
WH 306
CONFIDENTIAL