TNAG-0722-FCO40-920-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 110

735

CONFIDENTIAL

Sir Ian Sinclair KCMG

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

LONDON SW1A 2AH

Dear lan

HOME OFFICE

QUEEN ANNE'S GATE LONDON SW1H 9AT

232

4 May 1978

230

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE DEPENDENT OVERSEAS TERRITORIES

In his letter to you of 24 April, which was copied to Margaret Clayton here, Clive Rose suggested that the FCO paper on this subject might be circulated to the Ministerial Group (GEN 103) and should end with some conclusions.

We had understood that the purpose of this paper was simply to provide a factual account of the present legal and constitutional position for use if the policy issue were raised at some future date.

If the paper is to be used as a basis for asking Ministers to consider the policy question now, the conclusions would be incomplete if no reference were made to the political difficulty of causing capital punishment to be debated in the House of Commons, in whatever context, at a time when "law and order" is becoming an issue of heightened significance as the election approaches. If, therefore, you decide to circulate the paper as suggested we should be glad if you could include a sentence in the conclusions drawing attention to the general sensitivity of the situation. This might be easier if there were a slight re-ordering of the draft enclosed with Clive Rose's letter, on the lines of the attached redraft.

I am sending a copy of this letter to Clive Rose, Michael de Winton (Law Officers' Department), Michael Huebner (Lord Chancellor's Office), and Tony Rushford.

RECEIV

INDEX

No

нка 38011

- 8 MAY 1978

OF.

10. 51

REGISTRY Action Taken

ве

Youre ever

Michael Moriart's

M J MORIARTY

Enc.

"CONFIDENTIAL