§ 2.39 p.m.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-SIDEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will give an assurance that there are no documents connected in any way with the fate of the Romanovs retained by any Department or branch of the Government including the files of the Intelligence Services which are not open to inspection by the public under the 30-year regulation.
The LORD CHANCELLOR (Lord EIwyn-Jones)My Lords, I am answering this Question in view of my general responsibility for the Public Record Office. 325 As my noble friend Lord Goronwy-Roberts told the noble Baroness on 14th October last, all the available documents in the possession of Her Majesty's Government relating to the fate of the Romanov family are open to public inspection at the Public Record Office and I have nothing to add to my noble friend's statement.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-SIDEMy Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord for that Answer. In view of the fact that the Question answered by the noble Lord, Lord Goronwy-Roberts, is a bit "scarce", is the noble and learned Lord aware that my interest is to get history accurately recorded; and is he further aware that, until fairly recently, a document containing a great deal of interesting information was retained in the Foreign Office, and I have an affidavit from a certain friend of mine to that effect? Am I right, therefore, in assuming that all documents are now available?
§ The LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, my noble friend gave assurances to the noble Baroness that nothing is being withheld from the historian or the public in this matter; that we are anxious that anything that is known about the Romanov tragedy should be published. I admire the impeccable historical interest of the noble Baroness, but I hope that now she will accept, for at least the second time, this assurance from me.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-SIDEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government who has been given access in the past eight years to a document produced at the Foreign Office and identified at the time as a section of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty dealing with the safety of the Romanov family.
§ The LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, any document which could conceivably meet the description given by the noble Baroness which might exist among the records of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would probably have been transferred to the Public Record Office 326 by now, but I regret that from the description given in the Question it has been impossible to identify the document in question.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-SIDEMy Lords, while thanking the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor for that Answer, may I ask whether he is aware that a document was seen? I have seen the affidavit to this effect. Am I to understand from him that the particular document, which is slightly controversial from the British point of view at that time in the War, has been transferred?
§ The LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, again I can assure the noble Baroness that we have made every endeavour to find any document that might correspond to the document she has described. The indexes of the Foreign Office have been searched and no such document has been found which could be described as a section of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty dealing with the safety of the Romanov family. So, in so far as such a document exists, it is not known to exist by any Government Department. I again want to assure her—I do not think I have persuaded her even now—that the Government are very willing to disclose every jot and tittle of information available.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNE-SIDEMy Lords, while thanking the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor, may I ask whether the United States of America have any documents?
§ The LORD CHANCELLORAlas! my Lords, my jurisdiction does not extend to the Library of Congress.
§ Lord BLYTONMy Lords, could the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor say that, when the Russian Revolution took place and the Romanov family were disposed of, there was tight censorship and no relations existed with the outside world? Can he guarantee that the documents now in question are authentic?
§ The LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I can give no guarantee as to what might have happened in that time of bloody revolution. Anything might have happened to the documents. I can only answer for documents which we know to 327 exist. There is reasonable belief that they are authentic; but even as to those I cannot give an assurance on oath.
Lord CAMPBELL of CROYMy Lords, while the Government are making sure that documents relating to the Romanovs are made available, may I ask whether they will also ensure that documents of the period relating to Trotsky are made available for study, especially for the benefit of researchers at Transport House, in view of the rising influence which Trotsky and his theories seem now to be exerting within the Labour Party?
§ The LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords I cannot believe that that question was seriously intended.
Lord BRUCE of DONINGTONMy Lords, arising from that question and reply, will my noble and learned friend also ensure that there may be made available to the House some of the documents relating to Suez, which might also throw interesting sidelights up on our history?
§ The LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, that again is interestingly irrelevant to the original Question put to me.