§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria he uses to judge whether an author should be permitted access to classified material. [104707]
§ Mr. Robin CookThe FCO follows Cabinet Office guidance on access to records. It does not give access to authors unless their intended publication is commissioned/sponsored or approved by Departments, and is seen to be research from which the FCO will benefit, and can be justified as being in the public interest and resources are available. Authors are normally cleared to the appropriate security level before any access is given.
§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who authorised the disclosure of information, contained in the book by Alan Judd, entitled, The Quest for C: Mansfield Cumming and the Founding of the Secret Service; and if he will make a statement. [104708]
§ Mr. Robin CookThe disclosure of information in Mr. Judd's biography of Mansfield Cumming was made in accordance with an official authorisation given by SIS under section 7 (3)(b) of the Official Secrets Act 1989, and as defined in section 7 (5) of that Act.