布政司署
香港下亞畢道
本署檔號 OUR REF: SCR 11/2856/82 III
來函檔號 Your REF:
Mr Clinton E Leeks
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GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
15 July 1986
(Colonial Rivenes) du Barton
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
ENGLAND
Dear Mr Leeks,
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Thank you for your letter of 20 May.
If I read your letter correctly your main concern would appear to be that it would be theoretically possible for the Secretary of State formally to request the Hong Kong authorities to accede to the removal of a prisoner and for the Hong Kong authorities then formally to refuse. You seem worried that the informal nature of preliminary consultation would allow this theoretical possibility to exist.
Perhaps I could allay your fears somewhat by stressing that it is not our intention that the preliminary consultation should be informal. Rather, it is our intention that the signing of the Removal Order (a formal legal procedure) should be preceded by formal administrative steps. These formal administrative procedures would include an approach by the FCO to the Government Secretariat here, informing us that it was intended to seek the removal of a prisoner and requesting us to ascertain ExCo's view as to the acceptability of the prisoner in question being removed. We would then formally seek ExCo's advice and relay that advice to you. The administrative procedures would not be bound by our (differing) interpretations of the legislation and could work both ways. That is, if we wanted a prisoner removed the onus would be on us to obtain ExCo's approval and to seek your views on the acceptability of the removal prior to embarking on the legal procedures.
If these formal administrative procedures were to be adopted we could not imagine there ever arising a
situation where ExCo, having formally advised that the removal of a prisoner was acceptable, subsequently refused to concur in the removal when the Removal Order was received.
I should be grateful if you could let us know whether you could agree to our proposed procedures on this
basis.
Yours sincerely.
HKK 383/1
27: AUG 1986
Вос
(MJ Broom )
for Secretary for Security