§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the results of the investigation into the burning of English Heritage files in the keeping of the Department of the Environment which came to light in January 1990.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Strathclyde)The decision to destroy the files was taken with due regard to the procedures operating at the time. The subsequent investigation showed that some of the material should have been preserved and accordingly called into question the rigour of the procedures. Two hundred and ninety-two of the more important files have since been reconstructed. This process of reconstruction has now been completed.
Since the loss of these files came to light no material in which English Heritage may have an interest is destroyed without agreement of the departmental records officer and the divisional officers concerned.