§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Attorney-General (1) whether, in view of Her Majesty's Government's decision not to make generally available for 100 years the records concerning the British Union of Fascists and the late Sir Oswald Mosley, he will consider placing the records in the Library;
(2) why Her Majesty's Government have decided not to publish the whole of the records relating to the British Union of Fascists for 100 years.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIn 1959 the then Lord Chancellor, under the provisions of section 5(1) of the Public Records Act 1958, authorised closure for 100 years of a class of records some of which related to the British Union of Fascists. Another closure order was made in 1976 by the then Lord Chancellor relating to individual records within that class. At the request of the present Lord Chancellor, the Home Office is now reviewing the 100-year closure period. Records relating to the detention of the late Sir Oswald Mosley do not fall within that class but are retained by the Home Office under section 3(4) of the Act on the grounds of national security pursuant to an approval given in 1967 by the then Lord Chancellor. The proposal to place records not otherwise released in the Library is unacceptable and, where they have been released, unnecessary.