TNAG-1842-FCO40-2617-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 125

SECRETARY OF STATE

D/S of S/PS/20/211L

945

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

MAIN BUILDING WHITEHALL LONDON SWIA 2HB

Telephone 01-218 2111/3

2nd March 1989

GURKHAS

The Department will of course be studying in the normal way the Committee's report published early today on the future of the Gurkhas, and the Government will give its considered response in due course.

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In view of the possibility that the strongly worded paragraphs 11 15 on general procedure may catch media attention, the Defence Secretary has authorised Departmental spokesmen to draw upon the following line:-

"The Ministry has always sought to co-operate closely with the Defence Committee and will continue to do so. In this case a large volume of information was made available to the Committee, as is clear from the published evidence. The Ministry believes, however, that its approach to the Committee's questions about Departmental thinking was in line with past practice. In their evidence to the Committee officials followed established Government-wide guidance on dealing with Departmental Select Committees. The Ministry will take the Committee's comments into careful consideration. But the Ministry believes that difficulty will continue to arise in relation to lines of questioning which seek access, in advance of collective Ministerial consideration, to Departmental thinking about policy issues which may be sensitive in political or other terms.

11

Robert Rogers Esq

Clerk to the Defence Committee House of Commons

(S J AMBLER-EDWARDS)(MISS)

Private Secretary