§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the titles and general details of the 20 files released by his Department into the investigations of the murder of British service men on 28 May 1940 at Wormhoudt.
§ Mr. HanleyThe information requested is as follows:
- BAOR War Crimes Group
- WO309/26–27 —Investigation papers (Wormhoudt)
- WO309/28–31 —Investigation papers (Wormhoudt/LeParadis)
- WO309/1801–1803—Correspondence etc. on wanted persons
- WO309/1804–1812—Statements, interrogation reports etc.
- WO309/1813 —Lt. Col. Scotland's report on investigation
- WO309/1814 —As WO309/1813 (later, updated version)
- Military Deputy Judge Advocate-General's Papers
- WO311/100 —MD/JAG file on Wormhoudt case
- WO311/680 —Visit of survivors to scene, in connection with investigation
§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what further records his Department retains following the release of his Department's records on the investigation of the murder of British service men at Wormhoudt on 28 May 1940; and whether they are covered by(a) the 75-year or (b) the 30-year rule;
(2) if his Department retains any files which show the results of the requests to the Russian authorities in 1947 from British war crimes investigators for the return of General Willem Mohnke for questioning about the murder of British service men on 28 May 1940 at Wormhoudt.
§ Mr. HanleyAll surviving files on the original investigation of the killing of British soldiers at 553W Wormhoudt on 28 May 1940 have now been released. Records created within the last 30 years are covered by the Public Records Act, including any raised on this subject since the case was reopened in 1988. These records are subject to the Department's normal review procedures and the revised criteria contained in the White Paper on openness, Cm 2290.