Written question asked by Baroness Brinton (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Astor of Hever (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 July 2011.

Energy: Nuclear Tests

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of all documents held by the Ministry of Defence, Atomic Weapons Establishment and external agencies relating to the planning and execution of the British nuclear tests.

Answer: The Ministry of Defence and its external agencies release records to the National Archives in accordance with the Public Records Act 1956. The MoD withholds from release to the public at the National Archives files that are over 30 years old, or extracts from them, if and for so long as their contents are judged to be sensitive. In relation to nuclear test veterans and recent legal proceedings, the MoD has within the context of the High Court and the War Pensions Tribunal proceedings worked to ensure that all relevant material from classified documents can be used, subject to special security arrangements. As part of this process the MoD conducted a major disclosure exercise in 2008 which has continued into 2011 and over 12,000 documents have been disclosed. The Court of Appeal judgment on the nuclear test veterans’ group action on 22 November 2010 noted that the MoD had taken its duty of disclosure very seriously.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 10444; 729 c41-2WA
Session: 2010-12
Subjects: Disclosure of information AWE Nuclear weapons Ministry of Defence Testing Departmental records
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk