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Note of a Meeting with Mr. Anthony Royle, MP. in Lord Shepherd's room at 10.30 a.m. on Monday, 9 February
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No. Gandinara
Mr. Royle called on Lord Shepherd this morning at
his own request. He had given no prior indication of
IT 271
what he wished to talk about (he often calls on the Minister
of State to discuss Hong Kong affairs) but it wasássumed he would report on his recent visit to the Far East. assumption proved correct.
This
2. Beginning with Thailand, Mr. Royle said that there was much disappointment there that Her Majesty The Queen had been unable to visit their country this year. He wondered if a visit might be arranged next year. Lord Shepherd said that we, in this Office, would have welcomed such a visit. But demands on Her Majesty for visits these days, were considerable and, to be quite frank, he could not see a Royal Visit to Thailand taking place for some time to come.
3.
Mr. Royle then spoke of what he described as a grave security situation in Thailand. His impression was that the security situation there was deteriorating. He was, however, surprised that this assessment was not shared by Her Majesty's Ambassador in Bangkok, whose views were, according to Mr. Royle, "absurdly optimistic".
4. Lord Shepherd said that he was, of course, aware of the security problems facing Thailand but, because of his recent travelling, he was not au fait with the present position. He would, however, look into this.
5.
Mr. Royle then referred to tremendous enthusiasm for the Parliamentary institution which he found in Thailand. He said that the Speaker of the Thai Parliament would be attending an I.P.U. Conference in The Hague shortly, and wondered whether he could be invited on to Britain shortly
/afterwards.
Me
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CONFIDENTIAL
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