§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Attorney-General if the Lord Chancellor will make it his policy to arrange for the immediate release of all public records relating to Wilhelm Mohnke and the Wormhoudt massacre.
§ The Attorney-GeneralPublic records relating to Wilhelm Mohnke and the Wormhoudt massacre are subject to the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958. The Act provides for certain records over 30 years old to be retained by Departments, for administrative or other reasons, under section 5(1), in accordance with the criteria set out in paragraphs 26–27 of the White Paper "Modern Public Records", (Cmnd. 8531, March 1982). The Lord Chancellor's policy is to act in accordance with these. A file (TS26/206) containing reports of the incident is available for public inspection in the Public Records Office. A number of other files relating inter alia to this incident continue to be held by the Ministry of Defence where their contents are being examined in the light of the relevant statutory provisions and criteria to which I have referred.