Mr Murray
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK
0265
38
SIR DONALD LUDDINGTON
1. Sir D Luddington, the new Independent Commissioner Against Corruption will be calling on you immediately after his call on Lord Goronwy-Roberts which has been arranged for 4 pm today. You may like to glance beforehand at the attached note.
2. I gave lunch to Sir D Luddington yesterday. He had a month at ICAC before coming on leave and is therefore familiar with the problems. I was impressed by his approach to the job. He may not be another Cater in terms of energy and drive, but he is clearly a shrewd and capable man with plenty of ideas. He thought that the main objective should be to rid the Government service of corrupt officers: whether or not they were successfully prosecuted was of secondary importance, though he agreed that it was important that the worst offenders should be put behind bars. He was attracted to the possibility of reducing the scope for corruption by making fewer activities (eg gambling) illegal but was very concious of the difficulties.
3. We had some talk about the most appropriate way to deal with those involved in corruption under Colonial Regulations. Sir D Luddington accepted that action under CR55 would have to remain exceptional. He said he was exploring the possibility of disciplinary action before criminal proceedings but did not know whether this was a starter.
15 August 1978
pp.
que
RJ T McLaren
Hong Kong and General Department
Thank
you.
that helpful.
fu 6 M Thins
Mr Green
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@ 1a
CONFIDENTIAL
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