TNAG-1193-FCO40-1495-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1982 — Page 108

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BRITISH NATIONALITY (FALKLAND ISLANDS) AMENDMENT BILL

1.

(165)

On 18 October Mr Rifkind approved the speech which the Home Office had drafted for Lord Elton to use at the Second Reading of Lord Bruce of Donington's Bill to make all Falkland Islanders British.

2. The Bill has now been taken up by Baroness Vickers and will be given its Second Reading in the House of Lords on Monday 29 November. It has been decided that in the circum- stances the Government will not oppose the Bill and will offer assistance with the drafting.

3. The Home Office are making some amendments in the draft Second Reading speech. These are mainly of a consequential and technical nature. The one that concerns us is the deletion of the last two sentences at the end of paragraph 19 and of the last two sentences of paragraph 23 (original numbering) and the substitution for them of:

'But they have not necessarily changed in such a way as to lessen the force of the reasons which the Government then advanced against the amendment. To grant the Islan- ders British citizenship even where their connections. lay with the Falkland Islands alone would still be contrary to the logic of the Act. Nevertheless the Government are prepared to consider that in the circum- stances of the Falkland Islanders logic is not conclu- sive. After all that they have had to endure and after all that our forces have done to recover the Islands it may well be that your Lordships will consider that the case for granting British citizenship to all the Islanders is wholly exceptional: If that is the case then the Government will obviously take very full account of your Lordships' decision. I have already mentioned that we are prepared to give drafting assis- tance'.

FID agree that this is unobjectionable.

24 November 1982

cc:

Lord N Gordon Lennox

Mr Ure

HKGD

FID

Parliamentary Unit

Mr Addison, Home Office

Christophon Homeals

CJ Howells

Nationality & Treaty Dept

CONFIDENTIAL