Private and Personal
The Rt Hon Michael Stewart MP
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
The Foreign Office
Downing Street
London SW1
512
Mr. Gamkara C.50/e
Far Eastem Dapt. For draft raply,
23 July 1968
Сору
to
5.gs. Mr. Wilkinson [New Dayt
pleas.
D24
7
· Dear Mr Stewart
I know through friends at the Foreign Office, notably Donald Maitland, that you share the great anxiety which we in Reuters feel about the situation of our correspondent in Peking, Mr Anthony Grey. I know that you must also share our frustration over our total inability to find any way of improving Grey's situation, much less of securing his release. We have done the few things that we could to try to make contact with the Chinese and to influence them to free Grey. We have had no success and it may well be that there is nothing more that anyone can do.
This would be a depressing conclusion indeed and before accepting it I feel that I must write to you to take up the one possibility which in our view might offer some hope of securing Grey's release.
It seems to be generally accepted that if there is any hope of striking a bargain with the Chinese over Grey it lies in the direction of freeing Chinese newspaper workers at present imprisoned in Hong Kong. In the conversations I have had on this subject opinions differ widely about the number of these imprisoned Chinese who would have to be released if there were to be any hope of securing Grey's freedom.
I am well aware that the Government of Hong Kong carries the heavy responsibility of protecting people and property in the Colony and must therefore be reluctant to take any step which might suggest weakness towards people who have threatened the Colony's security, and might do so again.
Gerald Lỡng General Manager Reuters Limited 85 Fleet Street London EC4 Telephone Fleet Street 6060-
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