§ Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will extend his statement of 29 October 1984, Official Report, columns 854–5, lifting some of the restrictions of the Official Secrets Act placed on participants in the United Kingdom nuclear weapon test programme in Australia and the External Territories, to include the series of test carried out at Christmas Island and in the vicinity of Malden Island in the Pacific; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ButlerYes. Any participant or dependant subject to the Official Secrets Acts is now authorised to communicate to any person information in the categories defined as follows and which relates to the United Kingdom atomic test programme on Christmas Island and in the vicinity of Malden Island and the subsequent United Kingdom involvement in the United States series of tests similarly carried out on the islands in 1962 (that is from the initiation of the GRAPPLE series of tests in May 1957 to the completion of the GRAPPLE Z operation in September 1958 and the United Kingdom involvement in the US operation DOMINIC (UK Codename BRIGADOON) in 1962.
Category 1. The measures taken before, and at the time of the tests and that have been taken since, for the purpose of protecting persons against exposure to the harmful effects of ionising radiations and against contact with radioactive substances and other toxic materials used in or produced by the tests.Category 2. The means by which buildings, equipment and materials remaining at the test sites were disposed of during and on completion of the tests.Notwithstanding the aforementioned, any information which reveals directly or by inference could reveal details 738W of design, construction or performance of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices is specifically excluded from this authorisation.
Those in possession of information about which they have doubts as to whether it is covered by this authorisation should seek the advice of the Ministry of Defence.