Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on introducing duty of candour legislation.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government remains committed to implementing a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, and criminal sanctions for those who refuse to comply in certain circumstances.
The Cabinet Office and Ministry of Justice are the lead Departments in Government for this matter. Ministry of Defence officials continue to liaise with colleagues across Government on this important issue.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to meet with bereaved families associated with the 1994 Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 53163 on 3 July 2025 to the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan).
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria was used to determine the 100-year classification of documents on the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash in 1994; and whether a review of that classification has been held in the last five years.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
For personal information and information linked to identifiable living individuals, The National Archives and the Advisory Council for National Records and Archives advocate a closure period of the ‘lifetime’ of the data subject. This assumes a lifetime of 100 years but will be graduated down from the age or assumed age of the youngest individual in the record. The Ministry of Defence has not conducted a review of the classification of the records within the last five years.