Kurt Waldheim (Hansard, 17 October 1989)

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 16 February 1988 that a review would be undertaken of the results of the investigation carried out in 1986 by the Ministry of Defence into the fate of British servicemen and the possible involvement of the then Lieutenant Waldheim. This was in the light of both the report of the Commission set up by the Austrian Government, which had access to a wider range of sources than those available for the 1986 investigation, and of the continued questioning of Lieutenant Waldheim's role. Her Majesty's Government have now conducted most thorough inquiries into the allegations concerning his role in areas of specific British interest. The results of this review have been recorded in a report, which I have placed today in the Library of the House, and which is being published by HMSO.

The review has been solely concerned with areas of British interest and has centred on the cases of British service men, mostly members of the special forces, captured between October 1943 and October 1944 in Greece and the Greek islands under the control of the German Army Group E, in whose headquarters Lieutenant Waldheim was then serving as a junior staff officer. These cases, covering over 80 British service men, include both those brought to the attention of the Ministry of Defence and others identified during the research for this review. The review has not looked at other allegations concerning Lieutenant Waldheim's involvement in areas not related to British interests.

The review has involved long and painstaking research. The historical evidence and the documents gathered have been examined and analysed by the director of Army legal services who is well versed in the laws of war and who retains a residual responsibility for the prosecution of war crimes. His duty is to examine the evidence that has been put before him and advise whether, on that evidence, there is a case for a potential accused to answer. After very careful consideration his conclusion concerning the then Lieutenant Waldheim is that there is no evidence from which guilt of a war crime might be inferred.

The report indicates that Lieutenant Waldheim knew of the capture of the British service men and the possible fate of "Commandos", but no evidence has come to light to indicate that as a junior staff officer he had the power either to order or to prevent that fate or indeed to affect the outcome in any way. Knowledge in such circumstances is not itself a crime. Her Majesty's Government have accepted the findings of the report.

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The report also deals with British knowledge of Lieutenant Waldheim's wartime role and the post-war handling of relevant records. Allegations that records were altered, destroyed or withheld to protect President Waldheim are shown to be unfounded. He was not wanted by the United Kingdom either as a "top Nazi" or as a war criminal. In order to clarify these issues virtually all the most relevant papers have been included as annexes to the report. A very few documents have either not been published or not in full, on the ground of security or personal sensitivity. All these documents have been examined by Professor Sir Harry Hinsley, lately the Master of St. John's college, Cambridge, who agreed to scrutinise the results of the review in order to ensure its objectivity and thoroughness. I draw the House's attention to his statement in the report, in which he vouches for the validity of the conclusions drawn from these documents. On the question of President Waldheim's alleged post-war involvement with foreign intelligence services and his election to the United Nations, I do not intend to break the practice of successive Governments by commenting on such matters but I commend detailed consideration of the report.

Research has concentrated on the main archives in this country, in Germany and America, but other archives were consulted, as well as individuals whose wartime service was of relevance or who had some other expertise to offer. Although it can never be said that any historic report is definitively the last word, I am satisfied that the investigation has produced, from the thousands of documents examined, what we believe to be the main relevant records. These have established a pattern showing the events, and the responsibilities of the German headquarters' officers involved in those events. We therefore feel justified in bringing this long exercise to a conclusion now, and publishing the results.

A factor in this decision has been the need to consider the feelings of the relatives of the missing service men. very much regret that it has not been possible to resolve all the outstanding questions about what finally happened to the missing service men, although I should like to assure the House that any further information that may come to light will be passed on to the families.