TNAG-0719-FCO40-917-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 153

Registry

No.

SI

RITY CLASSIFICATION

DRAFT

To:-

DSR11

Type 1 +

M.

From Rowlands

Lord Goronwy Roberts-

Telephone No. Ext.

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

......In Confidence

[Flag B]

Mrs Diana Turner

Secretary

Rugby Labour Party 14 Regent Place RUGBY

571178/69

Department

Thank you for your letter of 20 December informing

and

the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of the resolution passed at your GMC meeting concerning the executions in Bermuda. David Owen has asked me to reply.

As you probably know, Dr Owen made a statement to the House of Commons on 5 December about the situation in

Bermuda. I enclose an extract from Hansard giving the full text of the statement and of the exchanges which followed it. You will see that, under the policy which has been accepted for many years by successive British Governments, the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary's scope for inter- vention was limited. The administration of justice in Bermuda is an internal matter, proper to the Bermudian Government. The Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary could only intervene if he had reason to suspect that a miscarriage of justice might take place. In the recent cases, there was nothing in the evidence to suggest that this might happen, and; therefore) Dr Owen felt that there were no grounds on which he could advise Her Majesty The Queen to exercise Her

prerogative of mercy.

However as you will see, in particular from the replies

to the questions raised by Mr Newens, Mr Latham and

Mr Winterton, the Government are prepared to review current policy on the whole complicated question of capital

punishment in the dependent overseas territories if it is Parliament's wish that they should do so.

R

Dd 108087 400M S&K 1/77