THE BRITISH Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, announced a government climbdown yesterday by finally agreeing to grant full British passports for up to 8,000 Indian and Pakistani citizens of Hong Kong.
The announcement comes just four months before the colony is handed back to the Chinese and is the result of an intensive campaign by the governor of Hong Kong, Mr Chris Patten, who feared the ethnic minorities could become "stateless" after the handover.
In a written House of Commons answer, Mr Howard said he expected the "great majority" of those affected would remain in Hong Kong, but those wanting to leave would be able to apply for registration as British citizens.
"I have carefully reviewed the position of the solely British ethnic minorities in Hong Kong in the light of expressions of concerns in both houses of parliament here and in Hong Kong that their nationality status will be uncertain after June 30th. It is clear that the assurances which they have been given over a number of years have not allayed this concern," he added.
Although the Shadow Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, welcomed the climbdown, he stressed he would be examining the small print over the numbers to ensure all Pakistanis and Indians would be allowed to enter Britain.
"We have been calling for these people to be given such passports. The government's stubborn refusal until today to grant this minority passports has been quite disgraceful and has caused untold and unnecessary anxiety within that community. Until the general election loomed the Tories were quite prepared to leave these people stateless," he said.
Several senior Tory MPs, who had also campaigned for the ethnic minorities, arguing that Britain owed them a "debt of honour," praised Mr Howard for finally relenting.
"It really would have been a bit of a blot on our honour if we had pulled out on June 30th without giving these people the safeguards and guarantee which they merit," said Sir Patrick Cormack, the Tory MP for Staffordshire South.
Until this climbdown, the ethnic minorities would have enjoyed only visiting rights to Britain. While the Chinese authorities have repeatedly stated they would not be granted citizenship.
Many of the Pakistanis and Indians in Hong Kong have long ties with Britain dating back to the founding of the colony in the 1840s. About 2,000 Indian troops were present when the British flag was raised there.
Last month Mr Patten told the British government he would not be able to leave Hong Kong with a "clear conscience" if the passports issue was not resolved.
The announcement came in the same day as Mr Howard confirmed that the Moors murderer, Myra Hindley (54), is to spend the rest of her life behind bars. He rejected representations from her lawyers that it was "inhumane and unlawful".
It is likely the child killer will now embark on a High Court challenge. Hindley, currently detained at Durham Prison, learned of Mr Howard's decision in a four-page letter yesterday morning.
The prisons minister, Ms Ann Widdecombe, said the Home Office believed the term was "justified by the crime, which included premeditation. It was a multiple murders. Children were involved - all the circumstances of the crime, we believe, point to the rightness of the whole life tariff," she said.
Hindley's London-based lawyer, Mr Taylor Nichol, said she was taking legal advice on challenging the decision by way of judicial review.