§ Mr. E. L. Mallalieuasked the Prime Minister if he will now make a statement on the Report of the Security Commission of June, 1965.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government have carefully considered the various recommendations and suggestions made by the Security Commission about future procedure, as summarised in paragraph 125 of its Report. They have taken note of public comments on these recommendations, and have consulted the staff associations concerned. As a result, the Government have accepted in whole or in part all the specific recommendations for action made by the Commission. The House will not expect me to go into the details of the various procedures involving questions of security practice.
Apart from its specific recommendations the Commission suggested also that further thought should be given to the desirability of making staff with access to highly classified information liable to spot searches on leaving the buildings in which they work. As the Commission recognised, any such arrangement would give rise to practical difficulties. Ways and means could no doubt be found of surmounting these if it were clear that spot searches of the kind suggested would constitute a really effective counterespionage measure. But the Government are not satisfied that this is so; and have decided not to pursue further this particular suggestion. They believe that the steps which have now been taken for the safeguarding of highly classified documents are the best way of meeting the problem to which the report of the Commission draws attention.