TNAG-0408-FCO40-454-Allegations-of-bribery-and-corruption-in-the-Hong-Kong-polic-1973 — Page 86

Mr Stuart

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference

Me Crowson

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MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR, 3.30 pm AMENDMENT TO COLONIAL REGULATIONS: DISCIPLINARY PROVISIONS

1. The Governor has asked us to consider amending the conditions of service of police and other public service officers to provide for the possibility of terminating their employment at the Queen's pleasure for reasons good enough to satisfy the Secretary of State.

2.

Colonial Regulation No. 55 itself is the "Queen's pleasure provision" which provides for the removal of public service officers. However, summary dismissals under Colonial Regulation No. 55 are restricted to cases where there is an over-riding objection on security grounds to the use of normal disciplinary proceedings involving the hearing of evidence and the Governor wishes to act without exposing his sources of information.

3. The Governor says he thought his request had been made before and turned down. In fact Sir David Trench in November 1967 put forward proposals for tribunals of inquiry into allegations of mis-conduct and certain consequential amendments to Colonial Regulations to help him in dealing with corruption. He ended by saying:

11.

"In principle I should like to be able to retire officers in the public interest with accrued pension rights where grave suspicion of corruption attaches to them to the disrepute of the public service although the evidence is not strong enough to substantiate the finding against them."

This was followed up in correspondence in 1968 and 1969 and in discussions between FCO legal advisers and the Attorney-General. As a result, in 1970 Colonial Regulations governing disciplinary provisions, ie nós. 54 - 66, were amended in their application to Hong Kong. The amendments were drafted by the Attorney-General Hong Kong himself and amended and approved by the FCO. These now appear as an appendix to the printed Colonial Regulations. (A copy of the regulations applied to other territories is attached).

If

5. Colonial Regulation No. 59 gives the Governor power to retire an officer in the public interest. he does so it also requires him to call for reports on the officer; inform the officer and give him an opportunity to reply; consult the Fublic Service Commission, and in the case of senior officers, refer the matter to the Secretary of State.

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CONFIDENTIAL

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