From:
Sir David Wilson, KCMG
香港總 督府
PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL
GOVERNMENT HOUSE
HONG KONG
29 February 1988
Mr Justice Barker
Thank you for your letter of 26 February. I note that you and Sir T L remain of different views about whether Mr Justice Barker should be pressed to resign; that Sir T L has now put it directly to the Judge that he ought to resign; and that the Judge is said to have lost the confidence of all his colleagues on the Court of Appeal as well as of a number of High Court Judges.
I can understand why both you and Sir T L do not wish the case to be dealt with by a tribunal under the Letters Patent. This view coincides with my own inclination. But it does not resolve the problem about how to deal with the allegations made by Lord Benson. Whatever judgment one makes about the reasons for Lord Benson's allegations, we skall face the facts that he has made them; that they allege a serious misconduct; that these points have been put formally to the Secretary of State; and that, at the very least, a response is required to the Secretary of State on how we view the allegations and what we have done in light of them.
Since time is pressing before your own departure I would like, if you and Sir T L can spare the time, to meet together in order to go through the main points of Lord Benson's allegations (in general, the points. mentioned in my letter of 20 February) in order to have a clear understanding of the views you and Sir T L take accept that neither you, nor I, wish to have a tribunal; nevertheless I think that asking these questions will help to clear our minds on what the right course of action is. I would then wish to explore two further points: what Mr Justice Barker's behaviour has been since the end of the Carrian trial; and the implications of the statement, which to me is a new and significant element, that he has lost the confidence of all his colleagues on the Court of Appeal.
The Hon Sir Denys Roberts KBE
The Chief Justice
Chief Justice's Chambers
Supreme Court
/2.
Hong Kong
(v)
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