TNAG-0170-FCO40-206-British-Trade-Commissioner-1969 — Page 162

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

information.

You might think that I

should have waited until I was in a

position to tell you the outcome of all

this, which we shall presumably know

before long in view of the urgency of the

matter. But the fact is that we do not

yet know what the outcome will be.

3. I do not need to say that it wou be

i

most undesirable if Colonel Clage, for

example, were to learn any more than he

is able to guess about the state of play.

If you needed to say something to him, I

would see no harm in his being told that

the whole question was under urgent con-

sideration, but that is all. In spite of

what we say in the letter about lingering

doubts that political risks must have

played some part in the ECGD assessment

of the guarantees necessary to cover

the commercial risk, this is of course the

one thing to which we must never at any

time, now, or in the future, plead guilty.

Public opinion may draw what conclusions

it likes, and from the Governor's telegram

they have obviously done so, but we must

never be heard to admit that they are

anywhere near the truth.

4•

I was sorry not to have seen Holdsworth

when he called here not long ago; he

will, I understand already be with you.

But although we were ready for him, it so

happened that on the morning of his call

the department was heavily involved with

the question about which amoure you

request for further

Probably

Q

have, heard, of, Swedish, restrictions on

of Swedish

/certain

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