fco-21-489-detention-of-anthony-grey — Page 6

drawn further and made it clear

that he thought it pointless

to indulge in mamanatrandes Nominations

now. He was simply glad to be home.

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b. I. Boyd)

31 October, 1969

Flag A

Flag B

COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

5.30 pun

1069

Private Secretary

MR. ANTHONY GREY

10 NOV 1969

FEC 134/1

Mr. Anthony Grey, of Reuters, is calling on the

Secretary of State at 5.30 p.m. on 6 November.

2. I attach a speaking brief, which includes defensive

notes in case Mr. Grey is critical of our handling of his

case. Judging from Mr. Grey's conduct to date, I do not

think this likely.

BACKGROUND

3. The Secretary of State is familiar with the background

to Mr. Grey's detention. In our handling of the case,

the crucial issue was whether we should pay the price the

Chinese were trying to exact for his release, namely the

premature release of the communist newsworkers in Hong Kong.

This was reviewed in the letter from the General Manager of

Reuters to the Secretary of State on 25 July and the Secretary

of State's reply on ↳ August. Mr. Grey has himself since

his release handled this aspect of the case with great care.

Interviewed on Thames Television on 30 October, he was

careful not to be stampeded into criticism of H.M.G.

described the connexion of his detention with the cases of

the imprisoned newsworkers in Hong Kong as "a very complex

question". He said that while at times during his detention

he had felt like a pawn in a game between two faceless governments, he
thought that there was now no point in

He

/recriminations.

COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

Flag

COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

recriminations.

Mr. Grey's articles, which are appearing

in "The People", have shown so far that his conditions of

detention were more oppressive than we had imagined but

have contained so far no criticism of our handling of his

case.

م

C. Wilson

(James Murray)

5 November, 1969.

Anza.

COVERING CONFIDENTIAL

- 2

CONFIDENTIAL

Speaking Note

(a)

MR. ANTHONY GREY

The Secretary of State may care to:-

congratulate Mr. Grey on his 0.B.E.;

(b) stress our admiration and gratitude for his fortitude

and express the hope that he has had a good rest since

his return to the U.K;

(c) emphasise that we regarded his case from the outset

with the gravest concern and did the very best we

could for him consistent with wider responsibilities.

Defensive notes

Why were the newsworkers not released prematurely?

2. The Chinese made it clear that the price for your release

was the premature release of all the imprisoned newsworkers

in Hong Kong itself. To have agreed to this would have had

damaging consequences for our position in the Colony which

rests on the confidence of the local people in our intention

and ability to maintain control. An important element in

their confidence is the belief that we will adhere by the laws

we have ourselves made and will not bend them grossly for

political convenience.

An exchange

3. We could have accepted an arrangement whereby the

imprisoned newsworkers were deported to China in exchange for

We did in fact make such an offer to the

your release.

E

CONFIDENTIAL

/ Chinese

CONFIDENTIAL

Chinese at the beginning of 1969. (This must remain

confidential) They showed no interest in such a solution

and returned to their insistence that the newsworkers be

released in Hong Kong itself. This was strong confirmation

of our view that they were pre-occupied less to resolve your

case than to inflict the maximum political damage on us in

Hong Kong.

Invitation to further pressures

4. If the Chinese had been successful in using you as a

hostage, they might well have been encouraged to try the

same method with other British subjects. It would have

been impossible to present the release of the convicted

newsworkers in the Colony as a bargain favourable to

ourselves. The disproportion of the numbers involved on

each side would have been only too evident. We should have

been at a great disadvantage in trying to resist pressures

for the release of further large numbers of convicted

prisoners in Hong Kong in connexion with the other British

subjects detained in China.

Far Eastern Department,

5 November, 1969.

CONFIDENTIAL

2-

CYPHER/CAT A

CONFIDENT I AL

PRIORITY FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

TELEGRAM NUMBER 389

11064

TO PEKING

11068

TOP COPY

5 NOVEMBER 1969

(FED)

CONFIDENTIAL.

ALLAN'S LETTER TO WILSON OF 14 OCTOBER PARAGRAPH 3: REUTERS OFFICE IN
PEKING.

REUTERS HAVE NOT YET MADE A DECISION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THEIR · OFFICE
BUT HOPE TO DO SO BEFORE THE END OF NOVEMBER, IN THE MEANTIME THEY WOULD
LIKE YOU TO KEEP ON THE THREE SERVANTS.

STEWART

+

FILES

F.E.D.

FINANCE D.

CONFIDENTIAL

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NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

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DEPARTMENT

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11

On the wider issues of his treatment at the hunds of the Chinone, his
attitude to IMG and his intentions regarding the @vlicising of his
experiences, there is little to add to what we have already reported by
telegrum. On his treatment, ore. cannot better the London Times' phrase
"his confinement was spitefully barted....' The psychological pressure
to which he was subjected (e.g. by bullying guards) wus considerably
greater than we had supposed, and continued to the very end of hig
confinement. As for his attitude to the British govern- ment, at no time
did he express resentment at G or long Kong's Lundling of the affair.
This reticence may have been partly due to is desire to examine the
circumstances of his confine- ment from the outside, and his natural
wish not to offend his diplomatic hosts here in Peking. But the
discovery that many other Dritons, Japanesu, Germans, etc. were
languishing in China side a strong impression on him, and he himself
deducol the need to avoid encouraging the Chinese to persist in their
hostage-taking policies by criticising 113 for not submitting to
blackmail.

2. As you will no doubt have learnt, Grey is arrunging through &
literary agent to publish a series of newspaper articles wil a book
giving an account of hic experiences. He has also b offered a 30 minute
spot on (I think) IV. So far he has cal: accepted an offer for a series
of four icles to appear in the People (Grey particularly asked me to
keep this strictly confidential for the oment). Crey's evident anger
over his vicious tretment by the Chinese, which he has described in
conversation as "mental aggression", and the fact that he managed to
keep a surre-titious diary, suggest that his articles will be cell-docu.
mitru und damning. Coupled with any dis- closures whici. Barrymine, the
Gordons or Captain Will might muke, they will add up to a pretty heavy
barrage of disparaging publicity which could enetrate even the armadillo
idea of the Chinese.

J.D.I. Joyd, Joy.,

For Bastern Depart...ent,

Cong Kong.

CONFIDENT1 L

4

**

CONFIDENTIAL

I should perhaps record one or two aspects of Grey's eparture from China
which are of some political intuet.

The

| only foreign diplomatic re:resentatives present at Peking airport

were two Indians and the Laotian Chargé and a member of their staff. The
Indians had made it a point of principle to repay Sir Donald Hopson's
gesture in seeing off the two expelled Indian diplomats in May 1967. The
Laotians' presence cân be attributed to the fact thut he ind met Grey,
thut his

relations with us are close (he knew John Denson in Vientiane) and to
his gregarious personality.

We have heard in

confidence from a member of the French Embassy thut & mòve by sevoral
French diɣlomats to send a representative was vetoed by the Ambassador,
despite the fact that the then British Chargé d'Affaires (Donald ñopson)
had trekked to the airpor. when Jeen Vincent, the AFP correspondent, was
expelled. of the six journalists we informed of Grey's departure, (AFF,
DPA, Toronto Globe and Mail, P.P, Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo) only two
Japanese failed to tum up. The Asahi correspondent în particular prefers
the low posture, and was probably feurful of Chinese displeasure. The
fact that Gray was a friend of Samejima does not seem to have weighed
with c Japanese, or only as a disincentive.

4. There is evidence that the Chinese were anxious to thwart any display
of solidarity by the journalists. Correspondento received an invitation
to collect bullet tickets from the Ministry &t 11.30 on the morning of
Grey's departure (the 'plane left at midday, and the airport is half an
hour's distance from Peking) This of course could have accounted

for the absence of the Japanese.

+

5. Though little additional proof of Pakistani sycophancy towards the
Chinese is required, we were struck by the unusual nervousness of the
Pakistani authorities lest the spectre of Grey should intrude into the
intimacy of their relations with China. A first secretary of the
Pakistani Embassy (and frequent tennis partner) who travelled with Grey
and I from Peking to Karachi, contrived to avoid acknowledging my
presence on the flight, let alone shaking Kr. Grey's hand. Kis worst
moment us when we found curselves at adjacent tables in the restaurant
at Shanghai! This overriding fear of causing offence to the Chinese even
extended to the crew of the PIA flight from Shanghai, who only began to
show any sympathy (or even provide normal service) for their special
passenger after crossing the Sino-Burmese frontier. One PLA official
charged with delivering a note from Reuters on bourd the aircraft,
confessed to being afraid the Chinese would discover this und, in his
nervousness, dropped the letter in the gangway! Pakistani anxiety to
avoid a press conference

CONFIDENTI.L

I

I

·

+

CONFIDENTAI.L

in Karachi and their zealous (but ham-handed) efforts to shake off the
press on Grey's arrival there increase our suspicion that the Chinese
may have made the requisite noises to the Pakistani Embassy in Peking at
the time of Grey's release.

6. Coples of this letter go to RcLaren in ong Kong, British High
Commission at Rawalpindi, and Deputy High Commission at Karachi.

Yan

eve

(0.0.11. Walden)

CONFI DENTI. L

1

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30 OCT 1969

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Office of the British Charge

d'Affaires,

Peking.

20 October, 1969.

azz/10

Ka sell

Anthony Grey

-

George Walden has told me how much you, your wife and members of your
staff, particularly Hugh Young, did to help Grey during his stay in
Karachi and I am writing to express my thanks. His stopover with you was
a sensitive period both politically and for Grey personally and it is, I
am sure, mainly due to your help and co-operation that it all went so
well.

Te still have several British subjects on (or perhaps in) the stocks
here, but I very much hope that it will not be necessary to call on you
to provide staging post facilities agnin!

Thank you also for looking after Walden.

8. C. Stout, Esq.,

Deputy High Commissioner,

Karachi.

c.c. Colin Wilson, Esq.,

Far Eastern Department, "..C.

(J. B. Denson)

고

Dempd. 1065 13/10.

15 October, 1969.

в.

On behalf of the Secretary of State I went to London Airport on the
morning of 12 October to welcome Anthony Grey back to London. After I
had delivered a message of greeting to him from the Secretary of State
Grey asked me to thank the Secretary of State for the message and added,
entirely

spontaneously, that he was extremely grateful for the assistance which
he had had from nenbera of your staff at Karachi and Pacca.

2. Obviously all concerned had done a very good job in looking after
Grey and I must say that I was struck by how extremely balanced and
normal he appeared to be. He certainly did very well in his first
encounter with the press at the Airport.

(K.. Wilford)

H.A. Twist, Esq., C.(.0., 0.8.K.,

RAWALPINDI.

c.c. S.C. 8tout, Esq., Karachi.

R. Fox, Esq., 0.B.F., Dacca.

CONFIDENT TAT.

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28 OCT 1969

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Enter.

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14/10

1063

MR. ANTHONY GREY

I was at London Airport on the morning of 12 October to welcome Mr. Grey
back.

Hr Grey back. I took the opportunity to convey a message of greeting on
behalf of the Secretary of State in much the same terms as authorised in
the message sent to Peking. Mr. Grey asked me to thank the Secretary of
State again and added, entirely spontaneously, that he was extremely
grateful for the assistance of Mr. Denson and the members of his staff
and also for the help given to him by members of the High Commission in
Pakistan.

2. Mr. Cradock, who was also present, and I had a chance for a few words
with Mr. Grey later, but I need hardly say that we made no effort to
give him any instructions about what he should or should not say to the
press. This part of some of the reports which appear in this morning's
press seem to be pure

invention.

3. I was struck by the normalcy of Mr. Grey's condition. was clearly
determined not to rush into print on any subject until he has had time
to sort things out in his own mind.

Km hilfr

(Ks. Wilford)

13 October, 1969

He

C.C.

Lord Shepherd

News Department

Far Eastern Department

themas.

Autor ť

p.a. RIP Gin Robe

Far Eastern Department