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4. In the meantime, I recommend that a telegram should be sent to the Governor agreeing to his proposed date for the change of Chief Secretary. I submit a draft. We shall also be setting
in motion the process for obtaining the approval of the Dependent Territories Senior Appointments Board to the appoint- ment of Mr Cater as Chief Secretary (the Board's approval is not required for the other two posts involved).
3 April 1978
cc:
Deputy Chief Clerk Mr Walker (POD)
W. E. Chantill
WE Quantrill
Hong Kong & General Dept
The Governor does not give any reasons in his telegram No 391 why all in Hong Kong are agreed that 1 July is too early for Sir Denys Roberts to hand over to Mr Cater. From the FCO point of view there is good reason to make the change as soon as possible, not so much for the immediate effect as for the timing from which Mr Cater's appointment would run. In this connection we have to think of the timing of the new Governor. On the other hand, I can see that it would be difficult to appoint Mr Cater as Chief Secretary and then immediately leave him in charge during the Governor's absence on leave. The best compromise seems to be a hand-over on 15 August, i.e. leaving Sir Denys Roberts in charge until Sir Murray MacLehose returns.
2. As for the successor to Mr Cater in ICAC, I am not convinced that Sir M MacLehose is right in arguing that we no longer need a crusader. Sir Donald Luddington seems a good candidate, but I cannot avoid a suspicion that he might run ICAC as a Civil Service Department. Judge Yang would be an imaginative appointment which could produce a good external image for Hong Kong, i.e. a Chinese setting essentially Chinese corruption to rights. It has its risks of course. I believe there has never been any criticism of the probity of Supreme Court Judges, but opponents
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