TNAG-2702-FCO40-3908-Memoirs-of-Sir-Percy-Cradock--diplomat-and-sinologist-1993 — Page 253

1. C. Mr Bone, LRD

2. P45

CONFIDENTIAL

DG 334/1

PRIME MINISTER

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Secretary of State

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MINISTERIAL MEMOIRS

At your request I have been considering, together with the Lord President of the Council and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Cabinet Secretary, the conventions on Ministerial and official memoirs. This follows a proposal by the Cabinet Secretary that we should look again at the "Radcliffe Rules" in the light of the greater openness of today. A summary of the existing conventions is attached.

Most former Cabinet Ministers writing their memoirs submit manuscripts to the Cabinet Secretary, and in cases involving national security and international relations it has invariably been possible to reach agreement with an author about the text. Difficulties have increasingly arisen, however, in cases where the Cabinet Secretary has offered views on the treatment of confidential relationships. This, of course, reflects the changing attitudes to disclosure of the business of Government, as well as the economic pressures from publishers and newspapers buying serialisation rights for revelations in Ministerial memoirs. But if it becomes more widespread then it must throw serious doubts over the value of the conventions as it is well known (for example by reference to Questions of Procedure for Ministers) that Ministers are expected to observe the Radcliffe principles.

Relevance of the Conventions

We have concluded that there should continue to be conventions governing Ministerial and official memoirs. There must be procedures for establishing whether memoirs would give rise to national security and international relations concerns. There is also a continuing need to preserve a confidentiality rule in some form. It would be unfortunate if frank discussion in Government between Ministers and with officials were inhibited because of concerns about subsequent disclosure. We concluded however that the application of the conventions should be modified so that in future the Cabinet Secretary's examination of texts should focus on material which is destructive of confidential relationships, and particularly on material affecting Ministers and officials still in office. In this way references to personalities and even to differences of view would be permitted, but not disclosures which might damage Ministers or officials, particularly those still in office, in their work.

CONFIDENTIAL