Registry No.
URITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential,
CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL
DRAFT
LETTER
To:-
Sir Murray MacLehose KCMG MBE
HONG KONG
Type 1 +
FROM
Mr Blaker
Telephone No. Ext.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
T
FUGITIVE OFFENDERS ACT
1.
Department
I am sorry that my first personal letter to
you on taking over from Tony Royle should bring you
bad news. You already knew of our decision that
we could not change the Fugitive Offenders Act
That wes
meant
(which retrospectively, and therefore could not send Godber
back to Hong Kong, unless you could find evidence
to charge him with something that is also an offence
in this country. I am sorry to say that we have also
been unable to reach agreement on any future change
in the double-criminality rule under the Act.
2.
We have tried hard. But the Home Office and
the Law Officers are strongly opposed to any change,
and the Secretary of State has decided that if we
press the point any further we shall lose.
3.
criticis
But
There are of course arguments on both sides.
We have stressed the general point of principle that it
is wrong that we should approve the laws of Hong Kong
and then allow their operation to be frustrated.
the Home Secretary could face unacceptable embarrass.
ment if he had to authorise the return of anyone for trial in the dependent territories on a charge which
did not constitute a crime in this country.
became clear after we had consulted the other
Governors that the only Dependent Territory law of
/importance
It also
(17260) Dd.897459 400m 12/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863 (16940) Dd.897300 400m 9/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863
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