§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 18 February,Official Report, column 1028, if he will provide whatever information is available of those occasions on which he, or other Ministers in his Department, have signed public interest immunity certificates, and for what reasons.
§ Mr. HowardSince I became Home Secretary, I have signed four public interest immunity certificates. In two certificates, signed in July and September 1993, I made a claim for protection of certain documentary and oral evidence from disclosure on grounds of national security relating to the work of the Security Service, in a criminal prosecution involving explosives and firearms charges and in civil proceedings in the High Court respectively. In the third certificate, signed in November 1993, I made a claim for protection from disclosure of an internal inquiry report into a prison riot and related documents, in connection with criminal proceedings arising out of the riot. In the fourth certificate, also signed in November 1993, a claim was made in connection with judicial review proceedings brought by a prisoner and related to the disclosure of documents considered by the category A committee when assessing what security conditions should apply to certain prisoners. No other Home Office Minister has signed any public interest immunity certificate during this time.