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7.
DTI officials are now considering how this latter idea can
best be carried forward. There are clear financial implications
for them as well as political and presentational ones for us. We
shall need to comment in due course about the desirability of such
a post from the FCO point of view. There are a number of obvious
presentational attractions, but we would need to be clear about how
the role of a London-based Commissioner would fit in with that of
the Senior British Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong. We would want
to consult the Governor and Mr Holloway before coming to a firm
view.
8.
The reply to Lord Derwent cannot of course refer to such
possibilities, given that thinking within Whitehall is at such a
preliminary stage. But it can indicate that we do not have a closed
mind and that we are thinking seriously about the issues which Lord
Derwent has raised. However, since Ministers have now confirmed
their decision that Mr Holloway's successor is to be a civil
servant, I think it very desirable that Lord Glenarthur's reply
should make it clear that we do not favour the privatisation of
Mr Holloway's post. If we do not give a straight answer Lord
Derwent's specific question, it is possible that he might
misunderstand our position.
9.
DTI officials have shown the draft to Lord Young, who would с C prefer it to be further edited, so that references to our dislike of
Lord Derwent's privatisation idea are omitted. The reasons for this
are not entirely clear (given that Lord Young accepts that
privatisation is not on) but may be related to Lord Young's
attraction to the idea described in paragraph 5 above. For the
reasons given in the preceding paragraph, I recommend that we should continue to seek the retention of the original passages.
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ARPanc
A R Paul
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