TNAG-2483-FCO40-3614-UK-Hong-Kong-Scholarship-Scheme-donation-to-the-UK-Governme-1992 — Page 151

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S K TANG BEQUEST: CHARITY COMMISSION

1.

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We have had no reply from Mr Venables, Charity Commission, to your letter of 30 January. This stated, in no uncertain terms, that the Department needed some news on the progress of our application for a Charitable Trust (see attached minute and letter).

2. Our last successful contact with Mr Venables was in November when Ms Doherty had to resend him our papers, dating from May, as he had lost them. Since then, we have had no response to either phone messages or letters.

13. Mr Venables' persistent elusiveness is preventing us from making any progress on this case. We cannot wait indefinitely.

4.

Possible options:-

We could put our predicament to someone more senior in the Charity Commission;

We could try to pin Mr Venables down to a meeting.

- We could beseige his office until he is forced to acknowledge our presence!

5.

Grateful for advice.

Puch hope.

SJ Haspel

WH 311 270 2657

27 February 1992

I agree that we do need to get some movement here. I will telephone Mr Venables again tomorrow and If, as is likely, I get no joy I will fire a warning shot across his Secretary's bows, making it clear that we find the situation unsatisfactory and incomprehensible (rude: unprofessional; is he ill perhaps?) Presumably she will pass this on.

2. I then suggest we send Mr Venables a further short letter from Mr Ricketts, enclosing a copy of the 30 January one (in case it has been 'lost') and proposing a meeting (since he seems to spend

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