E
definitive FCO view now. We can reserve our position at the 9 September meeting. There will be time for further discussion before and after it, and when Home Office Ministers decide to put the proposed changes to their colleagues.
9. HKD (Mr Cox's minute of 19 August) are concerned about the
effects of any restrictions on Hong Kong BDTCS and BN (0)s in view of the hyper-sensitivity of opinion there, and would prefer them to be exempted from any tightening up of the rules. (In
that event WIAD would wish consideration to be given to the case for any exemptions for Hong Kong BDTCs being extended to other DTCs too.)
10.
I would be grateful for Mr Lennox-Boyd's agreement that we
should take the line in para 2 above on 9 September.
:
11. As for the possibility of longer term changes to the WHM
scheme, including widening it to cover non-Commonwealth
nationals, this can be discussed in slower time.
Dimens
D I Lewty