Security vetting of civil servants and others
01 January 1991
Security vetting of civil servants and others
bacdoc May=1991
(Answered by the Prime Minister on Wednesday 3 April 1985)
UNSTARRED Mr David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Prime
No. 153 Minister, whether the Statement of Procedure to be followed
when the reliability of a civil servant is thought to be in
doubt on security grounds, and the Terms of Reference of
the Three Advisors, have been revised; and if she will make
a statement.
THE PRIME MINISTER:
In the light of the Security Commission's report following their review of
security procedures and practices in the public service (cmnd 8540) the
Terms of Reference of the Three Advisers and the Statement of Procedure
have been revised. I am arranging to have copies placed in the Library of
the House.
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TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE THREE ADVISERS
1. It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that no-one should be
employed in connection with work the nature of which is vital to the
security of the State who:
(a) is, or has recently been, a member of a communist or fascist
organisation, or of a subversive group, acknowledged as such by the
Minister, whose aims are to undermine or overthrow Parliamentary democracy
in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by political,
industrial or violent means;
(b) is, or has recently been, sympathetic to or associate with members
or sympathisers of such organisations or groups, in such a way as to raise
reasonable doubts about his reliability;
(c) is susceptible to pressure from such organisations or groups.
2. You have been appointed to advise Ministers in any cases referred to
you whether in your opinion their prima facie ruling that an individual
comes under paragraph 1 has or has not been substantiated. In doing so you
should answer the following questions:
(a) Are there, or are there not reasonable grounds for supposing that the
individual has or has recently had sympathies, associations or connections
of the type described in paragraph 1 above?
(b) If you are in doubt abut the answer to 2(a) above, how do you assess
the evidence whether presented to you or elicited at the hearing before
you?
3. In answering these questions your aim should be to give the Minister
the utmost help in deciding himself what course to take.
4. If you agree with the prima facie ruling you should specify your
grounds. If you do not agree with the prima facie ruling or do not reach
a firm opinion in any instance you should assess the evidence for the
Minister reporting the weight which you have attached to particular
factors.
5. You should in all cases take precautions to safeguard any very secret
sources from which any of the information bearing on conclusions has been
obtained.
6. In the appreciation of a case, aspects of an individual's Character
or conduct should be taken into account when they bear upon his reliability
in the general context of communist, fascist or other subversive
associations, sympathies or connections. (Where no question of such
associations or sympathies arise, cases involving character or conduct will
not be referred to you, but appeals will be dealt with under the normal
grievances procedure of Departments.)
7. A decision of what employment is to be regarded as involving
"connection with work the nature of which is vital to the security of the
State" or on what constitutes "classified work" or "access to classified
information" is not one for you but for ministers in charge of Departments.
Your functions do not extend beyond advising Ministers as set out above.
8. You have also been appointed to advise Ministers, in cases referred
to you in any of the following categories, whether in your opinion the case
for their prima facie ruling has or has not been substa