TNAG-1998-FCO40-2845-Sensitivity-review-of-Hong-Kong-Government-records-1989 — Page 3

布政司署

CONFIDENTIAL

(31)

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

Ret (19

香港下亞厘畢道

SDU 89/1

本署檔號 Our Ref.:

HKD 444/1

來函檔號 Your Ref.:

Mr Robert Footman

Hong Kong Department

LAST PAPER

ико 444/1

21 Sept 1989

SE PISUT

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

LONDON

Dear Robert

Future of Hong Kong Government Records

1.

2.

Two matters and I'll try to be brief.

Reg

Pls file ad retem to me.

29/9

We had a discussion yesterday with the UK Security Adviser who you saw recently. He asked whether he could be provided with a fuller briefing on the present review of HKG records so that he can more effectively respond to the concerns about certain categories of documents that were now being raised with his organisation. He also passed on a request from Marian Clay of LRD for information about the review which she thought would be helpful to them in preparing for the transfer of records and providing any assistance with the current exercise.

3.

There are no objections to either having sight of the Review Manual in your office and your providing any additional information that you feel is relevant in response to questions. I would, however, place a caveat on photocopying or removal of the Manual from your office.

4. The second point concerns the preliminary negotiations with the Lord Chancellor's Department on the 'blanket approval'. We have had a letter from the PRO (copy attached) asking for further information to assist them in preparing with FCO a 'paving' submission to the Lord Chancellor.

5. PRO's involvement is well understood but there is now some uncertainty here as to who is responsible for the we to infer that FCO has passed the

negotiations.

baton leaving the PRO to make the running on this?

6. As we see it, there are two implications. One is procedural. Do we now liaise directly with PRO and only keep LRD and HKD informed? If so, this is quite different

CONFIDENTIAL