TNAG-0494-FCO40-559-Establishment-of-Anti-Corruption-Commission-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 26

اسال

Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1

Dr ACE Cole MD FRCP DTM&H

Consulting Physician

Ministry of Overseas Development

Eland House

Stag Place

SW1

Telephone 01-

Your reference

Our reference

Date

12 September 1974

LAST

REF

NEX)

96

100

1.

Dev Dr Cole

REF.

Thank you for your letter of 11 September about Commander Howell. We discussed the telegram which I have now sent to Hong Kong and of which you will be receiving a copy. I also promised to send you a copy of the attached letter from Scotland Yard detailing the preliminary conclusions of the psychiatric specialist at St. Thomas's. There seems no doubt that Mr Howell is now seriously ill and that the onset of this illness was sudden. we do not know is how this could have arisen with an officer who had never previously shown signs of instability and who one would expect to have had the basic toughness associated with senior policemen. But doubtless this will be revealed in due course when the psychiatric examination is complete.

What

2. It is a pity that all this has had to be ventilated in public, just as it is a pity that the situation ever arose. But I think the Governor is right in saying that we must come clean if further undesirable speculation is to be avoided.

Yours sincerely

A.C.St

A C Stuart

Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.

IN CONFIDENCE

;