CONFIDENTIAL
21 May 1992
BY FAX
Mr John Shannon
Security Branch
Government Secretariat Lower Albert Road Hong Kong
Dear John
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
Telephone: 071-
OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1989: DRAFT ORDER
1. Please refer to your telno 1530. We are content with all the amendments proposed in the telegram, save one in respect of paragraph 2E of the telegram.
2. In Section 15, renumbered as Section 14, we suggest that a comma is inserted after the words "by him in Hong Kong" and not/not before "an offence". Insertion of the comma after "by him in Hong Kong" would mirror the
Act.
3. I attach an amended draft Order for your reference.
4. You asked me about how quickly it would become public knowledge that the Privy Council had considered and accepted this Order. The position is that the agenda for the Privy Council is not public knowledge and therefore it should not become public knowledge before the meeting that this Order is going to be considered. However, if journalists are inquisitive enough to ask the Privy Council Secretariat direct whether something has been considered by the Council, they are likely to respond. Thus, although the Order is unlikely to be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office until probably one week after the meeting, it is quite possible that journalists could find out much sooner that the Official Secrets Act Order was considered.
5. I am sorry that I cannot be more specific in when the news might break. But you should probably have a contingency plan to do whatever briefing you feel is necessary pretty quickly after the Privy Council meeting.
Yars sincedly,
illustre
M V Stone
HING KONG DEPT.
MVSAGB JRB
CONFIDENTIAL
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