HC Deb 14 July 2003 vol 409 c2W
David Davis

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the basis for his assessment that it was prejudicial to the safety of the state to allow the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to investigate whether Cabinet Ministers have ever had any conflict between their private interests and their public duties. [125679]

Mr. Alexander

The Government have made clear that they believe personal information provided by Ministers to their civil servants should be treated in complete confidence. The decision to issue a notice in this case was taken because the Government concluded that the release of certain personal, private information would not be in the public interest.