§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has reviewed the use of public interest immunity certificates following judgments of the Court of Appeal in the Ordtech case. [36749]
§ Mr. HowardNo. The Court of Appeal upheld in full the certificates signed by the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, me and the deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan police. As regards the material in respect of which public interest immunity certificates were made, the court ruled that the public interest immunity claims were well-founded and directed disclosure only of such parts of the material—or summaries thereof—as the signatories of the certificates had proposed and had volunteered for disclosure.
Public interest immunity certificates are one of the subjects under consideration by Sir Richard Scott. The Government will take careful note of any conclusions and recommendations in his report.