TNAG-1838-FCO40-2613-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 63

HKB 011/3

Private Secretary

CONFIDENTIAL

..3

FROM:

PS/Lord Glenarthur

DATE:

30 January 1989

CC:

PS/PUS

Mr Gillmore

Mr McLaren

Mr Teasdale

Mr Edwards,

Legal Advisers

Mr Millington, FED Mr Walker,

Research Dept

Mr Holt, PRU

49

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ENQUIRY INTO HONG KONG

1.

Lord Glenarthur was grateful for Mr Paul's and

He

Mr McLaren's minutes of 27 January reporting their useful meeting with the Clerk of the Foreign Affairs Committee. is grateful to Mr McLaren for giving such a good start to what will obviously be a difficult process.

Lord Glenarthur endorses the steer given by the Clerk that our written evidence to the Enquiry should be as positive and as forthcoming as possible.

2.

3.

As regards oral evidence, Lord Glenarthur thinks that the impact of the Secretary of State's contribution would be greater towards the end of the Enquiry than at the beginning. If the Secretary of State agrees, Lord Glenarthur would be content to give the first round of evidence himself. He would also be happy to give an informal briefing (with appropriate support from officials): this worked well in the case of the House of Commons Defence Committee Enquiry into the future of the Gurkhas.

4.

Lord Glenarthur agrees that the Committee's proposed visit to Hong Kong and China will present major difficulties and sensitivities, which would be exacerbated by the taking of evidence in public. He considers it would be quite wrong for the Governor to have to give evidence in Hong Kong. For this to be done at the London end might be easier, but the play-back in Hong Kong could still put the Governor in a very difficult position.

CONFIDENTIAL