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1933
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5
Mr Fifoot Mr Anderson
Berman
HRA 373 s
373ss Bundy
C:
all separate copies
PREROGATIVE POWERS
1.
Mr Wood, Legal Advisers Mr Cliff, PUSD
Mr. Tomy Miss
Famfor 212
It is not clear to me where the amendment in para 3 starts from in the profood text.
Quet's
On 28 January, Miss Wilmshurst (Law Officers Dept) telephoned to say that Mr Nursaw (HO Legal Adviser) had proposed to include for briefing for the Prime Minister's Questions a passage to deal with the article in "The Independent" on 27 January (copy attached) entitled "The Royal Prerogative as a threat to the rule of law." was to be used "if the opportunity arises." (I had discouraged Miss Wilmshurst the day before from inspiring a PQ to the AG for this purpose.)
It
2. The proposed text was initially: "I have read with growing amazement the fanciful stories which have appeared about the Government's reliance on the Royal Prerogative. I must make it quite clear that at no time has the Government asserted that actions which would otherwise be criminal offences may lawfully be done in peacetime_7 under the Royal Prerogative."
3.
Miss Wilmshurst persuaded him to alter the end so that it would read as follows:
read
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it clear that any of the alleged actions which have featured in these stories could lawfully be done under the Royal Prerogative when they would otherwise be criminal offences."
4.
This is an improvement.
"in peacetime" is too
narrow for the emergency power.
5.
She said that this was in a letter from PS/Home Secretary to Mr Wicks. (No 10 copied to Mr Galsworthy here. But I have not seen it.)
6.
I do not know whether the Prime Minister used it.
7.
The
I heard of all this too close to the deadline for the Prime Minister to allow me to intervene. Probably the revised answer is about as good as we could get. Home Office is clearly determined not to rely on the Prerogative. I am not so sure about the MOD in dealing with incidents between members of the forces and terrorists.
29 January 1988
P Wilson.
H G Darwin
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Acting Legal Adviser
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