§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister on which occasions the Churchill papers were offered for sale to the Government. [26843]
§ The Prime MinisterI cannot answer for previous Administrations. A formal offer of sale was made by the current trustees in 1991.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister if he will instruct the national heritage fund to put the Churchill papers up for public tender without reservation. [26846]
§ The Prime MinisterNo. The papers which constitute the Churchill archive are now the property of the Sir Winston Churchill archive trust, a charitable trust set up for the purpose of preserving the archive intact for the nation.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister what consideration he gave when deciding whether the Official Secrets Acts covered the Churchill papers in the case of Peter Wright; and if he will make a statement. [26862]
§ The Prime MinisterThe case to which the hon. Member refers has little or no relevance to the question of the applicability of the Official Secrets Acts to the Churchill papers.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister if the national heritage fund is free to sell private papers acquired from the Churchill family; and what evidence he has as to their current market value, taking into account the copyright provisions. [26861]
§ The Prime MinisterThe private papers sold by the Churchill family were bought on behalf of the specially constituted Sir Winston Churchill archive trust through the money allocated from the heritage lottery fund by the national heritage memorial fund. The only way the trust could dispose of the papers would be with the consent of the trustees of the national heritage memorial fund. As trustees of a charitable trust, they may not, in any case, dispose of the permanent endowment of the trust without the consent of the Charity Commissioners or of the courts. The independent advice on the value of the papers which the national heritage memorial fund received took into account the intended arrangements as to copyright ownership.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will take impartial professional advice as to the open market value, subject to the existing restrictions on copyright, of the private papers purchased by the national heritage fund from the Churchill family; [26867]
(2) what account was taken of the value of the copyright when estimating the amount which might have been paid by purchasers of the Churchill memoirs. [27340]
§ The Prime MinisterThe independent advice on the value of the papers which the national heritage memorial fund received took into account the intended arrangements as to copyright ownership.