HC Deb 29 April 1959 vol 604 cc1246-7
2. Dame Irene Ward

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will now make available the documents referring to the loss of H.M.S. "Hampshire".

Mr. C. Ian Orr-Ewing

Records of historical naval interest, such as the loss of H.M.S. "Hampshire," are, with some exceptions and on certain conditions, made available to bona fide historians and also to private authors to assist them in the production of their works. The Admiralty reserves the right to scrutinise the draft of the proposed work and to require the author to make any amendments to the text which appear necessary in the public interest.

Dame Irene Ward

Does my hon. Friend's Answer mean that the Admiralty would not wish to censor those portions of a book derived from other sources? In view of the fact that apparently Mr. McCormick, who recently wrote "The Mystery of Lord Kitchener's Death", was refused access to papers, would it not be fair that he should now have first access to these records?

Mr. Orr-Ewing

I am glad to have an opportunity of clarifying the first point raised by my hon. Friend. We normally wish to see the whole book or article in order to ascertain the context in which Admiralty information has been used. We also have a responsibility for the security which might be involved.

Mr. Callaghan

After 43 years?

Mr. Orr-Ewing

In reading the whole book, the historical branch of the Admiralty is often able to help with matters of historical fact and to correct them, but I am aware that in a recent instance the wording of a letter went rather further than it should have done, and I am sorry that this should have occurred.

In answer to the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, it would be wrong to give, as it were, overriding priority to any one author and thus exclude others. These records are often made available under the conditions I have laid down, and the Admiralty will be happy to make them available to those who take a genuine interest in research.

Mr. Callaghan

In view of the myth which has surrounded the loss of this ship for many years, I take it that the hon. Gentleman's reply does not mean that he is denying access to information about the loss of H.M.S. "Hampshire" on security grounds today. I take it that he is referring to a general rule and that his reply is not related specifically to H.M.S. "Hampshire."

Mr. Orr-Ewing

Yes, it was a general reply. We must consider the security aspect before making records available. We must obviously study security, because in certain cases, particularly of intelligence matters—for example, signals intelligence— these are techniques which are still used today. We should not wish them to be available generally. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We are very happy to make our records available under the general conditions which I have indicated to the House.