§ Richard OttawayTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list occasions on which his Department has conducted an inquiry into alleged leaks from members of staff since 1997; and if he will list the occasions on which the names of those persons accused of leaking information from his Department have been made public(a) by the Government and (b) by way of another source. [147194]
§ Ruth KellyWhile the Treasury has not itself instigated any formal leak enquiries since 1997, it does co-operate in cross-government preliminary enquiries at the request of other Government Departments attempting to trace the sources of leaked information.
1027WIn line with exemptions 1(a) and 7(b) set out in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on the outcome of such enquiries in order to safeguard security and investigative arrangements.