§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether access was allowed to Lord Aldington or his representatives to papers held by his Department that are not accessible in the Public Record Office for preparation of his court case; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonLord Aldington saw a number of open files in the MOD whch had been borrowed from the Public Record Office. Records on loan to the MOD are returned as soon as departmental action has been completed, but well-established procedures also exist for the earlier return of those records which are the subject of urgent access requests from the public. Lord Aldington was also, as is the right of any former serviceman, given information on request from his own Service Record held in confidence by MOD. Other than this information from his service record, Lord Aldington was neither given information nor saw any files which were then or are now closed to the public.