Letter
Gerald Long, Esq., General Manager, Reuters Ltd..
85 Fleet Street,
London, E.c.4.
Secretary of State
Thank you for your letter of 25 July about
Anthony Grey. I found it extremely well argued, and
Nevertheless, it does not cause me to
indeed moving.
alter my views.
I cannot accept that my announcement regarding
Gerald Brooke has invalidated the approach we have so
The overriding far adopted in the Grey affair.
difference between the two cases, and the one most
closely engaging my responsibilities to which you ref
is the difference of context. As I said in the House
there is nothing in the manner of Mr. Brooke'a releas that is incompatible with the long term interests of
this country. I continue to hold the view, however, that the premature release of the newsworkers in Ilona Kong would have damaging consequences for our positio in the Colony. If I may speak frankly, our position there resta on the confidence of the local people in our intention and ability to retain our control of t Colony in the face of Chinese pressures. Anything ti
led them to believe that we were no longer able to maintain our authority could quickly be disastrous. In particular it could very quickly affect the moral of the police and civil service, on whose loyalty we must depend but who can have little hope of leaving Colony in an emergency. I know that you have not accepted our assessment of the risks of the prematur
/release
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