§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether General Sir Peter de la Billière obtained clearance from the SAS and the Ministry of Defence before publishing his books Storm Command and Looking for Trouble.
Earl HoweManuscripts submitted to my department by former members of Special Forces are scrutinised to remove material demonstrably damaging to national security. However, this in no way constitutes approval of publications, a point made clear to the author or publisher in each case.
§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were their reasons for banning General Sir Peter de la Billière from making social contact with serving SAS officers.
Earl HoweBecause of the concerns set out in paragraphs 727 to 731 of the 1996 Statement on the Defence Estimates, we have recently taken a number of measures to prevent and deter disclosure of information by former Special Forces personnel. As one of those measures, a number of individuals will, in future, be excluded from Special Forces establishments. I am not prepared to identify the personnel involved.