asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about his decision to withdraw certain files in the MEPOL class from the Public Record Office until 2010; and under which of the acknowledged criteria these files have been withdrawn.

I take it that my hon. Friend has in mind Metropolitan Police files about which there has been some comment in the press recently. Certain files have been closed for periods of 50, 75 or 100 years because they fall within the category of documents which contain information about individuals, the disclosure of which could cause distress or embarrassment to living persons or their immediate descendants.