§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence if investigations have now been completed into circumstances surrounding the discovery of classified defence documents relating to Aldermaston and the Tornado aircraft on a rubbish dump in London; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ButlerInvestigations into this incident have now been completed and a report is in preparation.
The restricted documents in question were all either printed on plastic paper or were microfiche. They were found by two boys at the premises of J. J. Maybanks Limited, which is contractor to HMSO for the disposal of restricted, "in confidence" and unclassified paper waste. The company does not handle more highly classified material.
The investigation has indicated that the documents in question should not have been included in the material for disposal by Maybanks, since they were non-pulpable.
All Ministry of Defence staff are being reminded about the correct method of disposing of non-paper classified waste and of the need to take all possible steps to avoid a recurrence.