§ 2. Mr. Wiseasked the Secretary of State for Defence why he will not allow the hon. Member for Rugby to see War Office Memorandum 18/Gen / 3748 (P.A. 3 (a)) of 6th July 1961.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Army (Mr. Peter Kirk)The memorandum is an internal Departmental document which, by well-established practice, should not be disclosed outside official circles.
§ Mr. WiseIs this document in any way graded as restricted, secret or top secret? If it is only confidential, why cannot it be shown to the person whom it affects and who has been refused access to it?
§ Mr. KirkIt is not classified. It is confidential only in the sense that it is for official use. It comes into the category of Departmental and inter-Departmental minutes and memoranda containing advice and recording decisions, referred to by the then Lord Chancellor on 6th June, 1956.
§ Mr. WiseDoes my hon. Friend realise that the refusal by his Department to disclose this document gives rise to the firm impression that there are only two possible explanations: first, that the document has been lost—which, in my experience of the War Office, would not be unsual—and, secondly, that the content of the document concedes the very point which I have been trying to make for the last 18 months with his Department?