§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all those in his Department who have authority to issue public interest immunity certificates; how many such certificates have been issued in each of the last five years; and what were the main reasons for them. [1430]
Mr. Howard: A claim for public interest immunity is normally made by the appropriate Minister. Within the Home Office central records of public interest immunity certificates used in legal proceedings have only been kept since 1992. The available figures are:
669W
Year Number of PII certificates 1992 4 1993 5 1994 7 1995 12 The certificates have been issued to protect information relating to the Security Service and information relating to the security and operation of prisons.