§ Lord Vaizeyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide a translation into English of the expressions bout de papier and aide-memoire, frequently used by the Foréign and Commonwealth Office and cited in the Franks Report, and tell the House the difference, if any, between the two.
§ Lord BelsteadWhen a communication is made orally to the representative of another Government, it is sometimes advisable to hand over a written account of the points made or questions asked. The most formal way is to leave anote verbale (third person note). A less formal way is the aide-memoire (also known as a memoire or memorandum). It is written in the third person and is dated, but it has no opening or closing courtesies, address, signature or official stamp. A method suitable for leaving a record of purely factual material is the "piece of paper" (bout de papier), typed on unheaded paper with no courtesies, date, signature or official stamp.