1 - The Black Vault

DAS 4a(Sec)
Ministry of Defence
Room 8240
Main Building
Whitehall
London SWlA 2HB
10 October 2000
Your ref: DAS(Sec)/64/3
De~
Many thanks for your letters of 29 September and 6 October in response to my request
for access for MOD documents under the Code of Practice on Access to Govenunent
Information. Firstly, I wish to thank you and your staff for the help you have provided
and the efficient and detailed attention which my enquiries have received.
Secondly, thank you for listing the contents of the documents you have located, and for
explaining both the ' sanitisation' procedure and the details of the charging regime for
copies which I feel is very reasonable. On that basis I want to confirm that I wish to
proceed with this enquiry in terms of the documents requested, listed as nos. 1 and 3-6 in
your letter of 6 October, and that I am willing to meet the appropriate charge specified.
With reference to the question concerning the contents of the Meteorological Office file,
BJ 5/311 (no. 2 in your list); after taking into consideration the fact that an 'un-sanitised'
version of this document will be available at the Public Record Office from 1 January
2001 , I feel it would be an unecessary waste of your staff resources to request a copy of
this document from the MOD at this late stage. Therefore I do not wish to proceed with
this particular part of my request.
With ref to no. 5 in your list 'additional policy files 1968-81' I am grateful that you have
been able to identify a number of files relating to this enquiry, and I wish to proceed with
my request for access to these documents. I realise there will probably be a large number
of documents which fall within this category . .!!_ might therefore help if you ~uld prov~e
me with a · f s of the number of files and a es, estimated coSf of copying and
e years and subjects they relate to, when your research is completed.