CONFIDENTIAL
(9
24 May 1993
M. Shelda
to 8. 34 ра за
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
Sir David Gillmore KCMG
The Permanent Under Secretary of State
HKB 010/4
Sir Robin Butler GCB CVO Cabinet Office
RECI
*GISTRY
i
JUN 1993
PA
REGISTRY Action Taken
My dear Robin,
SIR PERCY CRADOCK'S MEMOIRS
1. As you suggested in your letter of 12 January to
Sir P Cradock, he has sent us the manuscript of his memoirs. We have considered this against the Radcliffe rules, as amended by Lord Wakeham's minute of 11 February to the Prime Minister.
2. Our conclusions are as follows:
(i)
(ii)
We do not believe that the manuscript contains revelations which contravene the requirements of national security.
The chapters dealing with the recent past and commenting on the present (pages 198-219) are problematic. They deal with issues (the new Hong Kong airport and electoral arrangements) which are still the subject of negotiation with the Chinese authorities. We consider that, taken as a whole, Sir P Cradock's treatment of these issues could be injurious to our future handling of them with the Chinese side.
(iii) Our concern relates not so much to specific
3.
disclosure of information, but rather to the damage which could be done by Sir P Cradock's treatment of these subjects, so soon after leaving a particularly senior and sensitive post in the public service.
Our advice is therefore that you should respond to Sir P Cradock making the following points:
CONFIDENTIAL
.../(a)