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this way and so is the Home Secretary.
However, in the light of Lord Waddington's strong views on the substance, you may wish to have a discussion among a small group of collegues, to include the Prime Minister, the Lord President, the Home Secretary, the Lord Privy Seal, the Attorney and the Chief Whip.
Making our Views Known to Governors
5. Although the Attorney General has advised that this option is improper constitutionally, you will wish to be aware of what I have in mind in considering whether to pursue it further. It would be a version of Lord Waddington's preference for muddling through. You could set out our policy following the CJB debate: in this way, the House, Chief Ministers and Governors would be left in no doubt of HMG's views. Governors would be expected to be guided accordingly. I have in mind something on these lines:
6.
Question: In the light of the decision by the House on 17 December to reject the clauses on capital punishment seeking to amend the Criminal Justice Bill, what is Her Majesty's Government's policy with regard to the retention of capital punishment in Bermuda and the Caribbean Dependent Territories?
Answer: The British Government expects the Dependent Territories which elect to remain under the Crown to uphold the same standards of good government and the protection of human rights as applied in the United Kingdom. We therefore look to Bermuda and the Caribbean Dependent Territories to introduce their own legislation to abolish the death penalty for murder. In the meantime, the Government would not wish to see executions carried out in these Territories for we expect our Governors to take note of the wishes
expressed by the UK Parliament whenever they are called upon to exercise the prerogative of mercy.
In my view, the above approach would not amount to a formal instruction to Governors to commute. In theory a Governor would remain free to decide each case on its merits after receiving the advice of the Mercy Committee, but the Parliamentary statement would be an important factor which the Governor would take into account in reaching his decision. In practice, however, no Governor would be likely to ignore such a clear statement of policy, and indeed Governors would certainly wish to be able to shelter behind such a statement when justifying to local opinion their
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