TNAG-0603-FCO40-751-Capital-punishment-in-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 119

NOTE FOR THE FILE

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

HKG 386/1

RECEIVED M.

12 DEC 1977

DESK OFFICIA

INDEX

20.51

PA

WENSTRY

odon Taken:

No

329

H&G

025/1

1. At a meeting this morning held by Mr Cortazzi and attended by Messrs Stratton, Stewart and Lloyd (Deputy Governor, Bermuda) it was decided that, taking into account the views expressed by the Secretary of State in the House on 5 December, the next steps would probably be as follows: that in consultation with the Cabinet Office Mr Stewart would draft a new paper setting out the various options open to HMG to carry out the implied decision of the Secretary of State that there should be no more hangings in the Dependent Overseas Territories, at least during the term of office of the present Government. The likeliest solution would be the abrogation of the Creech-Jones doctrine or else a modification of this doctrine to allow the Secretary of State to take into considera- tion not only any possibility of a gross miscarriage of justice but also any likely repercussions on the maintenance of law and order in the dependent territory concerned.

2.

Concurrently, telegrams would be submitted to the Secretary of State to be addressed individually to each officer administering the Government in those Dependent Overseas Territories (DOTS) which retain capital punishment from the Secretary of State suggesting that they should once again consider the possibility of an abolition of capital punishment.

3. The exercise on accelerated decolonization and its alternatives which was carried out by HKGD in the summer of 1977 would be resuscitated and an analysis prepared of the possibilities of accelerating decolonization in the remaining (mainly Caribbean) territories and of the implications of any failure to persuade the territories to move towards independence. Mr Lloyd would on his return to Bermuda discuss this question with the Governor and report separately to the Office.

J A B Stewart

Hong Kong & General Dept

9 December 1977

cc:

PS/Mr Rowlands PS/PUS

Mr Cortazzi o.r. Mr Stratton

f.e. B. Staunt fo.ß.