To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will allow Professor Eric Hobsbawm to examine the files held on him in the past by the security services. [HL1669]

The Security Service is subject to and fully complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). If Professor Hobsbawm made a DPA subject access request to the Security Service and is dissatisfied with the response that he received, he may ask the service for an internal review of its response, complain to the independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal, or complain to the Information Commissioner.

Anyone can make a subject access request under the DPA to the Security Service. Without anticipating the outcome of any such application, the main statutory function of the service is protecting national security. In perhaps the great majority of cases, the service will need to rely on the DPA Section 28 exemption to avoid damage to national security. That will include use of the long established “neither confirm nor deny” approach—an approach acknowledged by the National Security Panel of the Information Tribunal.