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3
J
5.
as seen from this department, is that to deprive Mr. Davidson of the
post at this stage will be to leave him with a real sense of
injustice and indeed of failure.
From his point of view the situation
a
is that he has known of the appointment for several months and has
been in correspondence with the geographical department and the staffing
section of HK&GD about it; he has done a not uncreditable job in Brunei and has seen a tricky negotiation brought to /successful
conclusion; he is aware that the situation in the British Virgin
Islands has deteriorated since he was appointed but not that the
situation has changed dramatically. Against this background it will
not be easy to give Mr. Davidson convincing reasons for a change
of plan.
He is more or less bound to come to the conclusion either
that he has been misled about our assessment of his performance in
Brunei or that he has offended someone in London.
8.
Moreover, if Mr. Davidson does not go to the British Virgin
Islands, it will be extremely difficult to find another post for
him: since he has no European languages and no commercial experience
the number of posts open to him is very limited. It would be
difficult enough to arrange a switch of assignments for
Mr. Davidson but it would be doubly unfortunate to have to deny him
a final post altogether. He would certainly not be a willing victim.
It has been suggested that Mr. Davidson should stay on in Brumei.
If he were able to serve out his time there this would be worth
nerious consideration. But since he does not reach 60 until March 1982
this hardly seems realistic. If he were to be offered an extension
in Brunei for say a year after the signature of the agreement,
he would be eft with only two years' service, an impossibly short
time into which to fit another posting. This would of course be
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