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Tessa Stirling opened the meeting by saying that since it last met in June 2006 there had been difficulty in bringing sufficient members of the Group together to warrant a meeting because of the number of changes in membership that had occurred and that this was now an opportunity to re-invigorate the Group. Tessa thanked Richard Thompson for arranging for the Home Office to host the meeting.
The Secretary reported that available statistics since the beginning of 2008 for the Group's webpage on the Cabinet Office internet site were disappointingly low (4-5 visits each day). A number of broken links may have contributed to the low number of referrals from other sites. TNA's on lineresearch guide on security and intelligence records, which has now been completed, and is updated when new transfers are made, does not yet include a link to the AGSIR web page. The research guide provides a means of highlighting details of newly released records which might not otherwise be readily apparent to researchers and it was therefore agreed that, as a first step to publicising the role of the group more, this link should be provided.
A small but steady trickle of enquiries to the Group's email address had been received. These had either been for SIS records, for which a reply had been given stating the SIS policy not to release its records into the public domain, or for more general records categories not connected with security and intelligence matters. However, an enquiry had recently been received asking about public access to Sir Mansfield Cumming's diaries which had been made available in the past to the author of the Cumming's biography. However, it remained likely that the diaries would continue to be retained for the time being in line with the SIS policy not to release records. The enquirer also referred to apparent inconsistent application of rules by departments regarding the need to withhold information. It was noted that it was not always possible to be consistent - apart from the role played by individuals in interpreting and applying the rules it was also the case that the rules were sometimes changed, eg guidance on nuclear proliferation issues was now more tightly drawn than in the past. It was also the case that more redacting of documents was being done now so as to release as much information as possible rather than withholding whole documents or files.
Tessa asked about the feeling amongst students at the moment on getting the information they need. Professor Hennessy said he felt that students rather preferred the previous arrangements under the Waldegrave Initiative to the FOI route. This included the opportunity for students to meet with records staff and establish a good working relationship. There was advantage from a department's point of view in having informal discussions as the FOI process could be too bureaucratic. It was helpful to be able to say more about what could be released. It was also possible to give early sight of cleared material ahead of it reaching Kew and this had been of great help to students writing dissertations. Some departments had been a victim of their own success under Waldegrave in that so much material had been released there remained only the most sensitive material that could not be released yet. The security and intelligence agencies were not covered by the FOIA although related information contained in departmental files was.
SIS referred to a recent case heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) set up under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. This concerned a request by Dr Vincent Frank-Steiner made direct to SIS for information about a relative whom he believed was a wartime SIS agent that contained one the great untold success stories of British espionage. The government's approach has been to neither confirm nor deny the existence of any records. The case before the IPT was unusual in that the IPT usually investigated complaints concerning people wrongly involved in wiretapping, etc. However, because access to information is a human rights issue the IPT decided it should look at SIS's conduct in withholding information under the Lord Chancellor's blanket approval covering security and intelligence records (not its policy of not making records available to the public). The IPT's investigations concluded that it was legal to withhold records beyond 30 years and therefore, as it was not unreasonable to withhold records, it was reasonable to neither confirm nor deny the records they hold. The IPT had the power to examine records, usually in private session, while legal aspects were discussed in open session. Its conclusions were evidenced based and its judgements were available from its website (www.ipt-uk.com).
Tessa said that the consultation period had now ended and we awaited the report from the Review Team later this year. The debate following publication of the report and the Government's response would obviously be important. Professor Hennessy said that following the change in 1967 from a 50 year rule to a 30 year rule there had been a feeling that there had been a loss of material and it would be important to guard against a recurrence.
The following were to be released by GCHQ in the HW class – Reports (from Simla, India) from decrypts of Russian Imperial Navy telegrams from 1907. The cipher text telegrams were presumably obtained from `telegraphic censorship' (ie drop copies made at the Indian cable offices which relayed them) under arrangements made in India by an Indian Army team which had done similar ‘censorship’ and decryption on Boer supporters' cables passing through Aden during the Boer War. It was already known that this Aden and later Simla operation existed, but these recent discoveries of this Simla team's output have only just been rediscovered; Plans for deception on D-Day – a complete set of all three services plans; Several thousand end product items concerning Soviet block military and paramilitary activities in the period August 1945 -1950.
The Security Service were to release about 140 files in the KV class on 1 September 2008.
Tessa asked all other departments represented to let the Secretary have details of any other proposed releases of interest to the Group.
The Group had met with students in the autumn of 2006. This meeting had been much appreciated by the students who were keen to repeat the experience. It was agreed a further meeting would be arranged to be held before the summer break.
The date of the next meeting would be arranged for early September.
Cabinet Office
21 May 2008