HL Deb 11 February 1999 vol 597 cc320-1

3.7 p.m.

The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the current position with regard to the documents misappropriated from the Medical Assessment Programme of the Ministry of Defence in November 1998.

The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)

My Lords, on 5th February a man appeared before Horseferry Road magistrates' court charged with theft in relation to unclassified internal documents which were removed from the MoD's Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme at St. Thomas's Hospital in November last year. The case was adjourned until 19th February. In view of the considerable public concern raised by misinformed media reporting of the contents of the two documents, the Ministry of Defence formally released both of them on 16th December and placed copies in the Library of the House.

The Countess of Mar

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that MoD lawyers, I believe, have indicated that the documents—incidentally, 23 pages of schedules—are in the public domain? Can the Minister therefore say when the Ministry of Defence will fully disclose the documents?

Lord Gilbert

My Lords, I may have misunderstood the noble Countess's Question, because I thought that I had already answered it. We have in fact disclosed the documents and have put them in the Library of the House.

The Countess of Mar

My Lords, with the leave of the House, the Minister has disclosed the schedules. It is the documents listed in the schedules which the MoD says are now in the public domain. I ask the Minister when the MoD intends fully to disclose them.

Lord Gilbert

My Lords, we are now talking about something different. I will look into the point raised by the noble Countess.