May 1993
CONFIDENTIAL
Sir Robin Butler GCB CVO
Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the
Home Civil Service
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.
butler14.5.PSN010.NJH
CONFIDENTIAL