§ Mr. Whiteheadasked the Prime Minister whether he has any further statement to make about the action which he announced on 1st July in relation to the rules for handling Cabinet documents and to inquiries into the child benefit leak.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Committee of Privy Counsellors established under the Chairmanship of Lord Houghton has submitted its report on Cabinet document security, and it is being published today as a White Paper. I am grateful to them for the speed and thoroughness with which they completed their task.
The report does not propose any radical changes in existing rules and procedures, but it makes a number of recommendations for their improvement and for tighter control. The Government have broadly accepted the report, and consideration is being given to the detailed implementation of its recommendations.
The investigation by the police in the child benefit disclosure was carried out by senior officers from Scotland Yard, but, despite exhaustive inquiries, the source of the disclosure has not been discovered. In the light of their investigation the police were, however, able to provide some assistance to the Houghton Committee in framing their recommendations.