Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the date most recently set for the declassification and release to the National Archives of the papers relating to Lord Denning’s Report on the Profumo affair, published in 1963 (Cmnd 2152).

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The Cabinet Office has transferred the papers of Lord Denning’s Report into the Profumo Affair to the National Archives. I refer the noble Lord to their publicly-available catalogue, which states that that they will remain closed until 1 January 2048. This follows a decision by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives.

This date reflects the fact that individuals mentioned in the Denning files are still alive, and Lord Denning gave assurances to those from whom he took evidence that the papers would never be published.