46
59.
outcome:-
The next day, 30 November 1978, Mr. Rowlands minuted the Governor setting out the brief history the
"Civil Service Branch wrote originally to Mr. MacLennan on 14 November at enclosure (2) terminating his services. This followed CP's recommendations at (1).
Senior Magistrate Daniell phoned me on about 22 November expressing concern at the manner in which the case had been handled and I promised to look into it myself. As a result we have now sighted the paper attached to (6) in this file. Senior officers in Police HQ have confirmed to us that the case against MacLennan is extremely weak and would be unlikely to stand up in court. They have expressed to us verbally the view that we have arrived at the wrong decision in this case, albeit on their recommendations.
We were just on the point of despatching the memo marked (x) to CP, cancelling the termination of Mr. MacLennan's services, when Mrs. Elliott's letter at enclosure (7) reached me.'
142
43
Mr. Rowlands advised that they should cancel the termination quickly. The Governor felt, by that time, the case had been properly considered and he initialled the minute that same day with his approval: "As proposed”.
60.
On 1 December 1978, Blackburn interviewed MacLennan and handed him a letter dated 30 November 1978 signed for the Secretary for the Civil Service. It cancelled the previous termination and expressed sincere regrets for the distress and inconvenience caused.44 Blackburn told MacLennan that he was to be transferred to Kowloon City Division with effect from 4 December 1978 and he would reside in the Ho Man Tin Service flats. Blackburn was then reported to say something else which later became the subject of some discussion and in which Counsel for the MacLennan family said "can be seen the genesis of the myth that the Government had been embarrassed by the incident and that Mrs. Elliott had played a, or leading role."
61. There is no doubt that Blackburn had strong feelings about MacLennan's approach for outside help. When he first learnt about it from Illingworth, he instructed Mansell to see MacLennan and inform him of the proper channels for appeal. Later when he saw MacLennan on 29 November, he expressly asked him to prevent his friends from making representations for him. And on this second occasion when he saw him again, he "took the opportunity to tell him that he should not go outside the Police Force and that matters dealt (with) between him and senior officers should be treated with some confidence."45 In evidence, he said of MacLennan: "He had been very disloyal both to the Commissioner and the Police Force in his actions in not appealing through the normal Police channels, but enlisting support outside the Force."46 Blackburn made a contemporaneous note of this meeting on MacLennan's personal file. According to this note, he asked MacLennan to consider whether he was suited to the Police and to carefully weigh in balance the possible damage that he might have caused to his career. But he emphasized that much would depend on MacLennan's future performance. Those remarks certainly contained a warning, even if a mild one, and was at variance with the suggestion in the Civil Service memorandum that MacLennan would, no doubt, need assurances that his career in the Force would not be affected.
62.
47
While MacLennan was very happy over the reinstatement, he was worried about what Blackburn had told him. He told all his friends, including Judge Daniell, Atkinson and Burns that Blackburn said words to the effect that the Governor had intervened and had there been anything in the allegation, even the Governor could not have saved him and when the time came for his promotion he should not be surprised if he did not go up."
48 Blackburn, on his part, denied ever making such comments. MacLennan might well have discerned from Blackburn's remarks and his apparent distaste for MacLennan's appeal to outside help a veiled warning that he would not be promoted or that his contract would not be renewed.49 But I find it very unlikely that Blackburn could have told MacLennan that only the Governor could have saved him. Blackburn knew very well that that was not the case. It is even more unlikely that Blackburn would have implied that there was nothing in the allegation. MacLennan was reinstated because the only witness had left Hong Kong and because the Police could not and did not bring any charges. Further it was a case of one man's word against another and they must give MacLennan the benefit of the doubt. But far from believing that there was nothing in the allegation, most of police officers concerned in fact believed there was "a ring of truth about it".
63.
The Yuen Long affair should really end at this stage with MacLennan moving to a new district and new quarters. It was in fact General Purdon who decided that MacLennan should be transferred. He did this to give him a fresh start and a clean slate. Mrs. Elliott however misconstrued General Purdon's good intentions and chose to see this as an attempt to move MacLennan away from his friends. A sinister interpretation was therefore put on a perfectly sensible and innocent decision.
42
Minute 4 File K page 3.
43
File K page
4.
44
File K page 59, reproduced in Appendix 17.
45
Transcript page 2938.
46
Transcript page B7.
48
49
Transcript pages 3043-3044.
47 Minute 22 File F(i) page 17, statement dated 31 January 1980, File A
page
5.
In fact, according to the evidence which I accept, had it not been for MacLennan's premature death and perhaps also the later SIU investigations, MacLennan's contract would have been renewed.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.