TNAG-0489-FCO40-554-Allegations-of-bribery-and-corruption-in-Hong-Kong-police-an-1974 — Page 74

CONFIDENTIAL

Prag D

SUR

Pre

317

Flag

Erag F

387

Flag

365B)

Pe

The

ground with him. Mr Macoun's note of this meeting is attached.

Godber case then blew up in Hong Kong and Mr Ellis renewed his

representations, maintaining that this case proved that the

"injustice" done to him was due to the "Hong Kong conspiracy of

corruption". Mr Royle decided that we should ask the Governor if he

would refer the Ellis case informally to the Anti-Corruption

Commission (FCO telno.1117 of 5 November 1973). The Governor, in his

telno. 1302 of 13 November 1973, opposed this on the grounds that it

was highly unlikely the Commission would discover anything new after

ten years, and that its failure to do so would probably cause

allegations that the new Commission was no better than the old

machinery and was yet another device to cover up, rather than to

reveal, corruption.

5.

However, Mr Royle subsequently discussed this with

Mr Jack Cater, the newly-appointed Anti-Corruption Commissioner, when

he was in London in December.

Mr Cater informally agreed that he

would consider the corruption aspects of Mr Ellis's case when the

Commission started operating. In doing so, however, he said that he

was going outside his own brief and asked Mr Royle not to write to

the Colonial Secretariat about it at that time. Mr Royle wrote to

Mr Ellis on 6 December 1963 confirming that as Mr Ellis's MP he was

prepared to put his case to the new Anti-Corruption Commission in

Hong Kong and to request an investigation. He pointed out that

the Commission would inevitably have to concentrate on the corruption

aspects of the case. Now that the Commission is about to start

operations and Mr Royle has left the Office, I have written a personal

letter to Mr Cater reminding him of this undertaking.

I have, however,

/asked him

CONFIDENTIAL