§ Baroness Denton of Wakefieldasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is in accordance with Civil Service rules for a civil servant to sell to a newspaper, within a week after he retired, an article which criticises the Secretary of State for whom he worked, and reveals aspects of private meetings; and whether the article by Andrew Wood in the Sunday Times of 3 May was cleared by anyone in the Civil Service. [HL1772]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyRetired civil servants are under a duty not to publish personal memoirs reflecting their experience in government or enter into commitments to do so without the prior approval of the official head of their department and the Head of the Home Civil Service. Mr. Wood did not seek any such approval. The Government regret his action.