§ Mr. LintonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the outcome of the inquiry into the leak of the Strategic Defence Review White Paper. [55672]
§ Mr. George RobertsonA copy of the Strategic Defence Review White Paper was leaked to the Opposition Front Bench and to the press on the afternoon and early evening of Tuesday 7 July. As soon as I learned about the leak, I asked the Cabinet Secretary to authorise an immediate and thorough investigation into how it came about. This inquiry has been conducted by two independent investigators. It has now been completed.
I regret that, after extensive inquiries, the investigators were not able to identify the person responsible for the leak. They have, however, established the course of events on the afternoon and evening of 7 July with a high degree of probability.
The investigators concluded that on 7 July a photocopy of the White Paper was sent by an authorised recipient within Government to the Opposition Front Bench; and that subsequently four copies were made within the House and made available to selected journalists. The first newspaper to receive a copy was The Daily Telegraph. Further copies went to The Times, the Financial Times and the Daily Mail, apparently in phased distribution because of the bulk of the document being copied. The investigators found no evidence to suggest that, in addition to the copy sent to the Opposition, a second authorised recipient sent copies to the newspapers.
The investigation revealed some small weaknesses in the generally very successful procedures for the distribution of the White Paper. None of them was a likely cause of the leak. The necessary steps will be taken to ensure that these small errors are not repeated. In itself the leak was of no significance to national security. But I am naturally most concerned that someone working for the Government breached security in this way. Ten thousand copies of the White Paper were circulated under embargo in advance of its publication. It appears that only one of the authorised recipients did not respect its confidentiality.
The leak was a gross discourtesy to Parliament; and I once again express my anger and my apologies for the fact that it occurred.
§ Mr. MaplesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Mr. Fabricant) of 28 July 1998,Official Report, columns 198–99, what public opinion research was undertaken in May in respect of the public presentation of the SDR; how much it cost; and what was the purpose of the research. [54667]
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§ Mr. George RobertsonMy Department commissioned two items of public opinion research: a qualitative focus group study which reported in May 1998, and a questionnaire in an omnibus survey conducted over one week (28 May to 3 June 1998). The combined cost was £49,655.50. The purpose of the research was to explore the public's attitudes, feelings and knowledge regarding the key issues covered in the Strategic Defence Review. This was in keeping with the Government's declared objective of achieving a national consensus on the defence of the country.