§ Sir REGINALD POLE-CAREWasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that where a person, by means of his holding or having held an office under His Majesty the King, has lawfully or unlawfully either obtained possession of or control over any document, sketch, plan, or model, or acquired any information and at any time corruptly or contrary to his official duty communicates or attempts to communicate that document, sketch, plan, model, or information to any person to whom the same ought not, in the interest of the State or otherwise in the public interest, to be communicated at that time, he is guilty of a breach of official trust; and whether the 1207 Board of Admiralty have any authority to act in contravention to, or to give instructions not in accordance with, the Official Secrets Act?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe hon. and gallant Gentleman has set forth in the first part of his question an extract from Section 2 (1) of the Official Secrets Act, 1889. With regard to the second part, the Board of Admiralty are, of course, bound to conform to the provisions of the law.
§ Sir REGINALD POLE-CAREWMay I ask how it was that instructions were sent down last year to the dockyard officials to show the Japanese Commissioners anything that they might wish to see?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAI would like to see these instructions, but I must remind the hon. and gallant Gentleman that information must not be communicated to any person to whom the same ought not in the interest of the State or otherwise in the public interest be communicated. He may take it from me that the Admiralty are fully alive to the responsibility which rests upon them as the result of that prescription.
§ Sir R. POLE-CAREWDoes the hon. Gentleman consider that Commissioners representing any foreign Power should be shown anything they wish to see?