E.R.
CONFIDENTIAL
iii. to disapply by Parliamentary statement the long
residence concession from Gurkhas and their families.
43. Since the OD decision on 9 May 1989, MOD have been
wriggling in an attempt to get off the legislative hook,
arguing that the uncontentious quinquennial Armed Forces Bill
was not the right vehicle for amending immigration legislation. They have been told repeatedly at official level
that the decision must stand. It is clearly right that
changes caused by MOD action should be dealt with by means of available MOD legislation.
Conclusion...
As the Home Secretary's
letter
argues
SA. The suggestion from the Defence Secretary must obviously-
be resisted. The Hong Kong Bill will be quite controversial
enough without the added complication of seeking to deal with
the Gurkhas at the same time. The juxtaposition of the two
sets of measures would simply play into the hands of the
critics of both, and significantly increase the likely handling difficulties.
R
5. As far as we know, the proposal has attracted no support
whatsoever within Whitehall. The FCO at official level are at
one with us and are inviting the Foreign Secretary to send a letter resisting the proposal.
6.
I attach a draft response for the Home Secretary's signature which has been cleared with the FCO.
5. Pater
PPR
RM MORRIS
CONFIDENTIAL