PART I, SECTION III: 3.06.20-3.06.22
finds himself in financial difficulties, HM Government
would feel obliged to take appropriate remedial action.
I hope that this statement will reassure the members
of your Association. You are, of course, at liberty
to have copies of this letter circulated to your
members.
ROBERT CARR
SIR JAMES KOBERTSON, GCMG, GCVO, KBE"
This letter is known as the "Carr/Robertson Assurance" (see
file SA 222/06 Part A).
3.06.21 It will be noted that this Assurance did not
categorically provide for automatic relief payments to overseas pensioners by the British Government. Each
individual or collective cases of difficulty had to be considered on its merits and no British "pension" payment
(now known as an ex-gratia loan advance) was to be made without prior consultation with and approval by the Treasury, notwithstanding that on 30 January 1968 in the House of Commons Adjournment Debate on "Overseas Civil Servants
(Pensions)" Mr Prentice, the then Minister of Overseas
Development said in relation to the Carr/Robertson assurance
"that does not amount to a formal commitment to pay loan
advances if there has been a default, but it has been
understood since by the Overseas Service Pensioners'
Association and by the British Government that this would
in effect happen if there were a default." (Hansard Vol
757 Cols 1299 to 1307). This Treasury consent requirement
still obtains.
On
3.06.22 Nigerian Eastern Region (Biafra) Default 1967. 30 May 1967 Lt Col (later General) Ojukwu, the Military
Governor of Eastern Nigeria, declared the Region an independent sovereign state under the name of the Republic
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