§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will institute an inquiry into allegations that filed documents within the Scottish Office relating to the Poulson affair had been tampered with; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. William RossA prolonged investigation into the possibility that papers had been removed from Scottish Office files was carried out by the Metropolitan Police with the full co-opertaion and assistance of my Department. All the evidence available, including the result of this investigation, was fully brought out in public in the course of the trial of Mr. Poulson and Mr. Pottinger. The police investigation has been followed up within my Department by reviewing the procedures for handling papers and by issuing supplementary and confirmatory instructions to staff.