TNAG-1299-FCO40-1655-Visit-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-a-1984 — Page 74

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REGEN ED IN REGISTRY

Private Secretary__INDEX

2 7 APR 1984

رف

FROM: John Goulden

News Department

DATE: 4 April 1984

cc: PS/Mr Luce

PS/PUS

Sir P Cradock

Dr Wilson

Mr Clift, HKD

HONG KONG PRESENTATION AFTER HONG KONG PRESS CONFERENCE

304"

Sel 305)

1. You may wish to consider what arrangements should be set up in London to ensure that any fall-out from the Secretary of State's press conference is handled promptly and effectively at this end, while the Secretary of State is virtually out of touch in Okinawa, Seoul and Tokyo. Over Easter weekend, the media will be at half strength, with no national newspapers on Friday 20 April. But this means that any interesting story may well In my view, get double exposure, particularly on radio and television. it would be highly desirable to have arrangements in reserve for a Minister to take interviews in the period between Good Friday and Easter Tuesday.

i

2. If necessary, we may be able to arrange for the Secretary of State to do interviews with some of the British correspondents accompanying him to Okinawa and Seoul. But it will be very difficult to judge the right tone at that distance. And the main effort of steering the media will, I fear, fall to Ministers and officials at this end.

mulden

P J Goulden

Mr. Been it

We must take this

into our Easter week and

contingency planning.

24/4

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