§ 39. Mr. Abseasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that confidential and secret documents of his Department have been left in office equipment sold to the public; whether he will hold an inquiry into the circumstance that documents relating to Russian trawlers equipment were left in filing cabinets sold to the public; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. C. Ian Orr-EwingThe facts are that three official documents—in each case a single sheet of paper—were left in the drawer of an Admiralty desk during a comprehensive series of office moves; the desk was later surrendered to the Ministry of Public Building and Works and sold by public auction.
Two of the documents, dating from 1959, were classified "Restricted", the lowest security grading. The information in the third document was classified "Secret" in 1959 but was down-graded to "Restricted" in 1960 and was subsequently published in "Janes" of that year.
§ Mr. AbseIs it seriously suggested that this matter can be minimised because of the passage of events or because, at this moment, the documents are not secret, as they originally were? Does not this incident reveal that there are serious gaps in the security arrangements at the Admiralty? Instead of attempting to devalue the importance of these discoveries, would not the Minister do better to thank the Daily Sketch and Daily Mail journalists for, apparently, being able to do the job of security which the Admiralty is failing to do at present?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingNo, Sir; I was not seeking to minimise the offence. I concede that there was a mistake, and I am very sorry for it. We are trying to tighten up our procedure. The desk was searched. It appears from our first investigations that these papers must have been either stuck under the drawer or at the back of the drawers. The true facts are that these papers were not secret either when they were placed in the desk or when they were found, and all the material has been published.
§ Mr. AbseWill the Minister confirm one way or another whether the documents related to the equipment upon Russian trawlers, as reported in the Press? At the least, if such documents are being left in desks, it must have a deplorable effect upon our relations with other Powers. Is it or is it not the fact that these documents contained detailed reports of the equipment upon Russian trawlers?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingTwo of the documents did show photographs of Russian trawlers and the equipment which these trawlers carry. Those documents were never graded higher than "Restricted". I point out to the House that even Admiralty Fleet Orders are "Restricted", so it was not a high grade.