§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will publish, in any form that does not jeopardise national security, the number of entries in the names index and in the organisations index of the main security service computer system and provide a description of the kinds of information held;
(2) whether he will publish, in any form that does not jeopardise national security, the approximate total number of files held by the Security Service, the approximate number of red, amber and green files, and the proportion of files that are temporary; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe Security Service holds only information which it needs in order to carry out the functions conferred upon it by the Security Service Act 1989. The service's record-keeping policy was described in the Security Service Commissioner's annual report for 1991. It would not he in the interests of national security to provide the detailed information requested.