TNAG-1083-FCO40-1333-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 93

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CONFIDENTIAL

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REY IN REGISTRY NO. Sorign and Commonwealth Office

1 APR 1931

From the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Richard Luce, MP

London SW1A 2AH

DECK OFFICER INDEX

PA

REGISTRY Action Taken

315.4

Pao isly

ccs: LPS

Mr Blaker

Mr Ridley

Mr Adams NTD

8 April, 1981

ce

MF Domin

Haugliung

WITH

NATIONALITY BILL : CITIZENSHIP FOR THE DEPENDENCIES

94

Thank you for your letter of 30 March. acknowledge that there can be problems attached to the proposal put to you for an enabling power in the Bill to create separate citizenships for the dependencies. Nevertheless the discussion in Committee of new Clause 9 and the opportunity it gave to members to express preference for separate citizenships for the dependencies strengthens my view that we shall have considerable difficulty with this in Committee and perhaps on the floor of the House.

I recognise that it will be inappropriate to establish separate citizenships for certain territories but there seems to be some support for Enoch Powell's view that some of them could be taken into British citizenship while others had separate citizenship. Hong Kong seems to be the key to it all. Some members seem to feel that if Hong Kong could be hived off into a separate citizenship the way would be clear to make other arrangements for the other territories. This would, of course, be unacceptable. But I fear that I can no longer guarantee that Hong Kong will not listen to the case made in Committee. We have asked the Governor to do his best to stop any proposals on these lines from being formulated, and to keep statements made in Hong Kong in line with the Government view.

The

We may find it difficult to give clear views of other dependencies on this issue. We shall be able to say that the dependencies have not advocated separate citizenships as an alternative, apart from Gibraltar, But I suspect that Bermuda would in principle also favour separate citizenship. Falkland Islands will be ambivalent. The Governor's view was that the Islanders would say that they do not want a separate citizenship nor do they want CBDT: they want to be British citizens. I agree that we are not without argument to defend the Bill's proposals but we are extremely vulnerable to the reactions of Hong Kong.

Timothy Raison Esq, MP Minister of State

Home Office

50 Queen Anne's Gate LONDON SWIH 9AT

/I agree