TNAG-0722-FCO40-920-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 68

M.P. letter, Double spacing, 4 spaces between

paragraphs.

Flag references.

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

Registry No.

GK.

To:

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To Be Seen By:

Keep

on

DRAFT TO M.P.

file.

Type ! +

Geoffrey Edge Esq MP

House of Commons

From

Mr Rowlands

Not Seur.

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

Consular

Enclosures:

Copying Action: To (Post):

*Bag By

*Fastest Means

*With *Without

David Owen has asked me to reply to your letter of 26 May about the question of capital punishment in the Dependent Territories.

It is true, as we have told Mr Bagnall, that the matter is under review. In fact, it

remains the Government's intention to seek to

find out Parliament's views on this subject. But we have not yet decided when and how it would be best to do this.The question of

whether or not Dependent Territories should be allowed to retain capital punishment is one which raises complex constitutional issues. In most of those territories where it is still

retained, the decision to keep it was taken by

democratically elected local governments.

It will not be easy therefore for us to make

any change that is so evidently contrary to the freely expressed will of the local populations in the territories concerned:

successive British Governments have taken the

view that they should respect the decisions of local governments in what is essentially

an internal matter.

Enclosures

*Report

For "Necessary Action *Information

"Delete words not required

Any proposal to change this policy would be bound to provoke some degree of controversy. There is a risk that this would start a debate

on the wider issue of capital punishment in

/...