THE transfer of responsibility from the Special Branch to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for security checks and reports on senior government officers was in no way connected with the political situation in Hong Kong.
''It neither denotes any concern within the Government over the efficiency and moral integrity of the Special Branch,'' the Secretary for Security, Alistair Asprey said.
He said the transfer was to re-allocate an administrative function which the Special Branch would find increasingly difficult to perform with a reduced number of staff.
''It also reflects the main purpose of the checks, that is, in verifying the integrity of civil servants in posts requiring a high degree of trust,'' he said.
''There will, as before, be checks for involvement in crime, corruption and other activities which might cast doubt upon a civil servant's integrity,'' he said.
''The process will continue to require the verification of information provided by the civil servant by means of interviews . . .