TNAG-0716-FCO40-912-Air-hijacking-and-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 53

CONFIDENTIAL

(HX 21/1)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To all Governors and Administering Officers in Dependent Territories

HIJACKING

1.

!

London S.W.1

20 December 1973

сорко COPIED TO

то

MR. A.B.P. SMART

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HX 211)

SECURITY BEAT.

M406

The hijacking of aircraft has become a disease of our time, and we have been considering how best to help you to handle such an incident if you should be faced with one.

2. I hope that the enclosed paper, which has been prepared jointly by Security and by Marine and Transport Departments, and approved by the Cabinet Office, will be useful to you as a basis for drawing up local contingency plans or Standing Instructions to deal with hijacking if you have not already done so, or for reviewing your existing plans if you have.

3. The first sentence of paragraph 9 of the paper specifies that decisions on policy will be made by the UK Government if time permits. Ministers here are answerable to Parliament for your actions; if you have a hijack on your hands circumstances may well arise in which you are compelled to take drastic decisions on the spot without consultation; but in principle, if you possibly can, you should refer this kind of decision to us so that it can be cleared with Ministers before action is taken. In an emergency this can be done remarkably quickly.

In any case if you find yourself involved in a hijacking situation, or receive advance warning of one, you should at once report by FLASH telegrams, with further FLASH telegrams to keep us in touch with the situation as it develops. The specialist departments here are ready to give you all possible support.

4. It may be helpful if I outline the thinking of our specialist departments on paragraph 9 of the paper. Under the Hague Convention, which as you know, has been extended to Dependent Territories, the Governor would be required to establish juris- diction over a hijacking offence and take the offender(s) into custody. But in effecting this, the safety of the passengers and crew would be a very important consideration, and we would be very reluctant to advise the use of force particularly with non- specialist troops or police. We think it would be only humane to give the highest priority to the lives of any hostages, and to negotiate for their release against safe conduct. This line might depend on the acceptability of the political price demanded by the hijackers, but the pattern to date tends to show that this kind of negotiation can produce a simple exchange. We would be particularly concerned if British subjects were hostages; but it

/is relevant

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CONFIDENTIAL