E.R.
2.
further quota would not be generally welcomed and might call into question the contribution already being made. This would be very unfortunate. Nor did the Home Secretary feel that his colleagues, at a time of retrenchment, would be willing to provide the funds needed for a further programme; the Home Office had no money which it could divert from its other services. He therefore believed that the Government should proceed quietly with its existing programme but should not accept a further commitment.
4.
In discussion Sir Murray expressed his appreciation of the position in which the UK Government found itself. But he thought that silence on the part of the Government would in due course be interpreted by the United States authorities as an indication that the United Kingdom was not going to accept an additional quota. As he had suggested, he feared this would lead to the United States itself being unwilling to make a further contribution. It would be a pity if the United Kingdom did not offer to receive more refugees at this stage, bearing in mind the lead it had taken at the Geneva Conference.
5. The Home Secretary made the following further points. He recognised the arguments Sir Murray had set out. The Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary had already spoken to him about the matter. But it had to be borne in mind that the United Kingdom had a continuing commitment to receive people from the Indian Sub-Continent and elsewhere. People had so far distinguished this commitment from the undertaking to resettle Vietnamese refugees but this might not remain the case if there was heightened public discussion of a further quota of refugees. He was not in a position on his own to commit the Government to a further quota. In the light of what Sir Murray had said he was willing to put the question to his colleagues. He would discuss with the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary how best to do this. He would not oppose his colleagues if they wished to accept an additional quota, although for his part he saw in that course the difficulty he had already outlined. But he wished to make clear to Sir Murray his view that his colleagues would not agree to this additional commitment.
It
6. It was agreed that if the Government was asked about its plans for the further quota it would say that it was concentrating for the time being on completing its existing programme. If pressed, it would say that it was keeping the situation under review. might be helpful to refer to the undertakings given on family reunions. The risks in being seen, particularly in the United States, entirely to reject a further quota were recognised. would probably be best to defer collective discussion of the question by Ministers until early in the New Year, and the Hong Kong Government should be consulted before anything public was said about the decision Ministers reached. In the meantime the Home Secretary would minute the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary
It
/outlining the
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.