1 - The Black Vault

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e
DEFE 3111 19 (together with 118) was one of two files that came to light during DR's
ongoing review of record holding in DIS. They were discovered by my staff during
1997 and following review transferred to the PRO. So far as 119 is concerned the
complete file has not been released. One sentence, unrelated to the subject of "ufos"
continues to be retained on intelligence grounds. I have asked my staff to investigate
with DIS whether subsequent parts survive. You should note from the attached
(Annex B) I suspect not! I will let you know the outcome in due course.
Para 8
I can confirm that fl/ 5/311 is at the PRO waiting release at the normal point ie
january 2001. The Public Records Act permits the release of records in advance of
the 30-year point. Administrative action takes normally three or four months and
specifically requires the Lord Chancellor's formal agreement (Section 5(1) of the Act
applies). I would not normally suggest we take such action at such a late stage in the
year, it is just possible the PRO would take the line that in view of its imminent
release in just over four months no useful purpose would be served. Alternatively,
the MOD could recall the record from Kew and permit Dr Clarke to view it in
department. This would of course set an interesting precedent at least so far as Dr
Clarke is concerned. A final option, would not exemption 10 apply "publication and
prematurely in relation to publication."?
Para 9
Dr Clarke's request for the release of DEFE 44/ T and DEFE 21 is being handled by
this branch. I very much doubt that DEFE 44/ 1 will be released. It is solely a list of
DSI / DSTI reports etc created from 1946, something in the region of 2,000 entries.
The register is intelligence sensitive simply by virtue of a majority of the titles.
Reports that survive ie have been passed to Defence Records and have been selected
for preservation are identifiable in the PRO catalogue. To date this category consists
of just 11 7 reports.
4. I hope that this is helpful.