TNAG-1841-FCO40-2616-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 41

The Secretary of State for the Colonies was on at least one occasion

requested to secure the attendance of witnesses from the colonies,

(See Erskine May, page 698, note 8) and the Clerk to the Committee

has indicated that there are several precedents for a Committee in

Westminster requiring the attendance of officials of the government of a dependent territory to give evidence before it in Westminster.

It is suggested that such officials would be subject to the same

to contempt of the House as officials working in the UK.

16. The power to require attendance of witnesses would even extend

to officials of the government of a dependent territory who are not

UK Civil Servants, UK diplomats or otherwise connected with the UK.

The key point is that, even though certain areas of government may have been delegated to the local authorities, the ultimate responsibility for all areas of government in dependent territories

lies with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth

Affairs who is answerable to the UK Parliament for the manner in

which the government of such territories is conducted. The position of officials of the government of a dependent territory is summed up

in the words of Roberts-Wray;

"The Secretary of State exercised, and still exercises over

much reduced field, extensive authority, but the officers are

in the service of the countries to which they are appointed.

Nevertheless, the official view is that they are rightly regarded as belonging to a general service under the Crown as well as to the local Civil Services". (emphasis added)

Accordingly, and as has been argued in paragraph 11, it would seem to be the case that Parliament or one of its Select Committees

could call any of the officials of the government of a dependent territory to book for their administration of the territory. (It would also follow from all this that the nationality of the official

would be irrelevant; the determining factor would be his or her responsibility for the governing of the dependent territory under the general authority of the Secretary of State.)

17. On this view, even the Governor is not beyond the powers of a Select Committee. Although he is the personal appointee of the