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Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 28 October 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 November 1998. It was answered by Jack Straw (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 November 1998 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that files held by MI5 that are marked for destruction or might reasonably be thought to be so classified had they been assessed, are not used for vetting purposes.
Answer

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that files held by MI5 that are marked for destruction or might reasonably be thought to be so classified had they been assessed, are not used for vetting purposes. [57566] Mr. Straw: Those Security Service files that have been reviewed and marked for destruction have been withdrawn from the Service's central file index and are not available to desk officers for any purpose. Those old and closed files, which have yet to be reviewed for destruction, remain centrally recorded but the Security Service may neither carry out inquiries into the subject nor add substantive information to the file. The current policy is that the Service will not apply information from its records in response to vetting inquiries merely on account of the subject's membership of organisations once considered to be subversive.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
318 c496W; 57566
Session
1997-98
Subjects
Disclosure of information Intelligence services Personal records MI5 Vetting