TNAG-1852-FCO40-2627-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 131

PERSONAL IN CONFIDENCE

DS

Revised Sept 85)

DRAFT: minute/letter/teleletter/despatch/note

FROM:

TYPE: Draft/Final 1 +

Reference

YOOA AD

SECRETARY OF STATE

DEPARTMENT:

TEL. NO:

Your Reference

BUILDING:

ROOM NO:

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

TO:

Top Secret

The Rt Hon David Howell MP

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

Chairman House of Commons

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs.

ISONBOBOT: SW1A OAA

CAVEAT

In Confidence

Enclosures flag(s)

Copies to:

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT ON HONG KONG

In his letter of 17 August to Robert Wilson, the Head of

our Parliamentary Relations Unit explained why we were

not in a position to reply to the Select Committee's

Report on Hong Kong within the usual timescale.

grateful for the Committee's understanding of this.

I am

I understand that you had in any case indicated a

preference for the reply to be held up until we had

something new and substantive to say. We had originally

en saged being in a position to announce details of our nationality package by the autumn, This is however taking

longer than expected and we may not be ready to make an

announcement for some time. Nor are we yet in a

position to say anything on the subject of future

constitutional development.

I am sure that the Committee must now be anxious to know

the Government's response to their recommenations.

It