Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2014-02-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the ministerial veto was used to overturn the Information Commissioner’s ruling on the disclosure of the minutes of Cabinet meetings prior to the Iraq war; and why that route was preferred to an appeal to the courts as in the case of Plowden.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

The terms under which the Chilcot Inquiry is operatingare set out in the Protocol between the Inquiry and Her Majesty’s Government regarding documents and other written and electronic communication. They have not changed since the Inquiry’s inception in June 2009. A copy of the Protocol is available on the Inquiry’s website:

http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/background/protocols.aspx

Each request under the Freedom of Information Act is considered on its merits and handled accordingly. The reasons for the use of the veto on the disclosure of Cabinet minutes prior to the Iraq war are a matter of public record.

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