TNAG-0931-FCO40-1149-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1980 — Page 128

Mr Day

Sir E Youde

PS/Mr Ridley

CONFIDENTIAL

STAFF IN CONFIDENCE

21

HKG-380/2

30 OCTION

NO

30

BBR

22

1. While I do not entirely share Mr Davidson's views on the

underlying question of principle, I sympathise with him in his

deep concern at the dilemma which looms in the BVI in the context

of the two cases to be tried this month. Is it reasonable that a

Governor of a British Dependency, acting in the name of Her Majesty,

should be expected to decide by himself and on purely juridical

grounds for or against the death penalty, when not only his own

conscience but also the clearly-expressed views of the British

Parliament rules out capital punishment as an expedient in any

circumstances? I think not. Nor it seems to me, can the

Creech-Jones doctrine be held to have the same validity in 1980 as

it had in 1947.

2. I therefore think that Mr Davidson is justified in asking that

positive Ministerial guidance should be given him, especially since.

he appears to have been given a steer in a somewhat different

direction when he was appointed in 1978 (paragraph 9 of the

submission).

This guidance need not, I should have thought, be

urbi et orbi : it could perhaps be addressed to him and to the

Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the first instance.

6.C.HKG 380/485/1

D

ནག་

G W Harding

20 October 1980

сс PS/Mr Hurd

Mr Deare, WIAD

PS/Mr Blaker Mr Payne, M & CD

PS/PUS

Legal Adviser

Mr Munro, POD

/...

CONFIDENTIAL

STAFF IN CONFIDENCE