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r t CONFIDENTIAL Foreign and Commonwealth Office London S.W.I 27 January 1975 Please refer to my letter of 23 January, Our Acting High Commis>«^on O'that, 7- oner in Kampala has recommended (Kampala telegram No. 37) that, in accordance with the discretion given to him, he should not carry out the instructions in our telegram No. 19 to deliver to the Ugandans our rejection of General Amin's proposal to visit the UK from 4 August this year. We have recognised that there might be a risk to the remaining British community, numbering nearly one thousand. Mr. Hennessy believes that this risk is a real one and that General Amin might well react sharply to our rejection. He considers that no reply at all would in African terms be considered a refusal. We consider that we should accept his advice. We have consulted the Palace who agree that a dignified silence at presence would be acceptable to them. There is of course a risk that the Press might seize on our non-reply as indicating that General Amin's message to The Queen was beneath contempt. They might also surmise as they have in the past that the risk to our community precludes a negative reply. However, our News Department judge that interest in the message is waning and that they should be able to hold the simple line that we have decided not to reply. Should General Amin persist with his plan to come to Britain, we may need at a later stage to consider a more clearly expressed negative. In that case it might be prudent to do so through the Ugandan Acting High Commissioner in London, Mr. Isingoma. Because of the short time available before the Prime Minister's departure for Washington, I am sending this letter in parallel with / our submission Patrick Wright, Esq., 10, Downing Street, S.W.I.