TNAG-0722-FCO40-920-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 122

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CONFIDENTIAL

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Mr Stewart

Mr Stratton Mr Stephen

Sir

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B. Stent.

BIT A Duff - Ny The 29/7.

dondu

PS to Mr Rowlands

tca 386/1

RECEIVED THEY NO. 51 28 APR 1978

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

No

/PA

Action Tami

Lee

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE DEPENDENT OVERSEAS TERRITORIES

1. In his minute of 19 April, Mr Stephen has suggested that the Secretary of State might send the International Secretary of the Labour Party a reply similar to that which he, ir Stephen, recently sent to the General Secretary of the Labour Club at the School of Oriental and African Studies, rather than a reply based on the draft attached to my submission of 17 April below.

2. The problem with proceeding in this way is that the Secretary of State has already covered much of this In her ground in his previous letter to Ms Little. reply to this letter, on behalf of the International Committee of the Labour Party, she asked only for clarification of the Secretary of State's statement that "the Government are prepared to review the policy on capital punishment in dependent territories if that is Parliament's wish". It seems unlikely that the International Committee would be satisfied with a reply that does not address itself to this specific question. It would also seem strange to go into detail about the case in Bermuda (as Mr Stephen did in his SOAS letter) since Ms Little's letter makes no further reference to Bermuda.

I have, however, attempted to expand the draft to make it look a little less thin.

3.

24 April 1978

Cc:

PS/Lord Goronwy-Roberts

PS/PUS

Mr Cortazzi

WIAD

CONFIDENTIAL

W.E. Chantill

WE Quantrill

Hong Kong & General Dept

R.J. Shattres

منه

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