§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider making it the practice of Her Majesty's Government to make publicly available the conclusions and recommendations of service boards of inquiry reports investigating fatal accidents subject to the agreement of the next of kin of the deceased and the minimum of security requirements.
§ Mr. Archie Hamilton[holding answer 19 February 1993]: Service board of inquiry reports are internal documents written for internal use by the service concerned. Their conclusions and recommendations may refer to failings on the part not only of the deceased, but also of other named, or identifiable, service personnel or service units involved. While this is no longer considered sufficient justification for withholding reports from the next of kin of the deceased, it does render the material inappropriate for routine publication by the Ministry of Defence.