Rift set to widen on legislature

Britain is expected to confirm next week it will not co-operate with China over the provisional legislature.

Governor Chris Patten will arrive in London on Wednesday after a holiday in France and hold a series of talks with the Prime Minister, John Major.

At the top of the agenda will be the provisional legislature and China's recent proposals for so-called loyalty tests for Hong Kong's civil servants.

Mr Patten has said he will do nothing to undermine the credibility of the Legislative Council and Britain will back that position.

In the House of Commons this week, Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind described the attacks on Legco and the creation of the provisional legislature as 'reprehensible and unjustified'.

Britain is thought to be frustrated by China's failure to understand the importance of the need to retain confidence in the territory.