§ Lord O'HAGANasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the provisions of the Official Secrets Act apply to Liberal Peers, Members of Parliament and their research assistants.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord Harris of Greenwich)Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 deals principally with penalties for spying and applies to everyone. Section 2 deals with the wrongful communicationet cetera of information: it applies to persons who have obtained information through holding office under Her Majesty, but it also makes the wrongful communication et cetera of information by anyone an offence in certain circumstances. Peers, Members of Parliament and their research assistants are not, as such, persons holding office under Her Majesty for the purposes of the Act.