TNAG-2654-FCO40-3847-Extradition-cases-from-the-UK-and-France-to-Hong-Kong-Lorrai-1992 — Page 97

the case was not one where a meeting could assist and

therefore to take a decision to cancel the meeting.

4.

The Home Secretary should have examined, but did not,

the documents which were not disclosed. Mr. Osman was most

anxious that the Home Secretary should inspect the

documents which had been the subject of claims for non-

disclosure on public interest immunity grounds. Those

documents fell into two classes, those which were in the

possession of the Hong Kong Government and those in the

possession of the United Kingdom Government. The Home

Secretary did not examine either class of document.

However, although this is contrary to what Mr. Osman urged

should happen, the Home Secretary could reasonably come to

the conclusion that it would not be helpful for him to

examine the documents. A substantial proportion of the

documents had been examined in previous court proceedings

and the courts had taken the view that those documents did

not assist and if those documents, which were the Hong Kong

documents, did not assist, it was unlikely that documents

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