Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he made any application under the Public Records Act of 1958 in accordance with paragraphs 26 and 27 of the White Paper on Modern Public Records, Cmnd. 8531, to withhold beyond 30 years papers concerning the background to the signing with the United States Government of the Anglo-American mutual defence agreement on atomic energy matters in July 1958.
§ Mr. EggarRecords may be retained or closed for longer periods than 30 years under appropriate sections of the Public Records Act 1958 and in accordance with established criteria. It has been the practice of successive administrations not to disclose the content of records which are so withheld from public release.