Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Topical Questions

Question: Is the Secretary of State aware that over the past five years 1,723 documents have gone missing on their way from Government Departments to the national archives, and that those highly political files include some on the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the Iranian embassy siege, and Cabinet Office documents relating to how the European Union perceives the United Kingdom? Will he place a list of those missing documents in the Library, press all Departments to find those missing documents, and report back to the House in due course?

Answer: I am now aware of the extent of these missing documents. I will certainly look into it. The hon. Gentleman will understand the quite intense difficulty sometimes of proving that something is missing until someone is looking for it, but I will do my best and inform the House.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 475 c165
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Data protection Archives Government departments Public records Departmental records
Link: View this Topical question on pubs1.tso.parliament.uk