TNAG-1908-FCO40-2712-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-voluntary-and-mandatory-repat-1989 — Page 123

ITEM 4: MEDIA/PARLIAMENTARY HANDLING

1. Action Before Repatriation

a) Parliament: action in hand

Briefing note to backbenchers

Early day motion

An article to appear under Sir Peter Blaker's name in The Times.

b) Media

How to consolidate our case with The Times, Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Sun (without raising alarm

bells).

2.

Action After Repatriation

(NAC

14 Decenser)

a) Presumably the Foreign Secretary should make a statement ́in Parliament. This will not be possible till approximately 1600 on the day of repatriation. The news will almost certainly have broken

in Hong Kong some 16 hours previously:

Should we make a short factual statement at the 1230 press conference (with a parallel statement being made in Hong Kong) which will not pre-empt the Foreign Secretary's statement?

b) Separate briefings:

Diplomatic Correspondents: Minister or News Dept?

Political Correspondents: Minister or Special Advisors? American, European and FPA: Minister or News Department?

Sunday Correspondents: Minister?

c) Ministerial interviews: by Secretary of State and Mr Maude with BBC Radio (Today, World At One, PM, World Tonight, World This Weekend), IRN, Channel 4 TV, ITN, BBC TV, Newsnight, TV AM, Sky.

d) Guidance for posts: Information Department have work in hand.

e) Mailshot to editors, leader writers and key correspondents: suggestion is for short individual letters covering a common agreed presentation of case.