TNAG-1848-FCO40-2623-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 59

MAXABY

Mr Paul

Reference

353

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : SIR P HADDON-CAVE

1

Mr McLaren asked us to find out from the Clerks why the Committee had abandoned plans to take evidence from Sir P Haddon-Cave.

2. According to Mr Hutton, the Committee formed the impression from Sir P Haddon-Cave's reply to their invitation that he was very reluctant to give evidence. His letter stressed that it would be "extremely inconvenient" to give evidence on 10 May. The Committee considered his letter and decided that it was tantamount to a refusal. Since they did not wish to press the matter too far however,

the Clerks wrote back inviting Sir P Haddon-Cave a written submission if he

SO wished. In his reply, Sir P Haddon-Cave said that he was giving thought to a written submission but made no

reference to the fact that the oral

to submit

evidence session had been called off. At no stage did he telephone the Clerks to explore the possibility of giving oral evidence on a different date.

3. Mr Hutton

said that the Hong Kong Government Office had also been in touch with him to ask why the oral evidence

session with Sir P Haddon-Cave had been abandoned.

4 Unless Sir P Haddon-Cave is being disingenuous about this episode, it sounds a s if he seriously misjudged the tone of his original reply to the Committee and now at his word.

regrets that they took him

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