Interestingly the official response to the discovery of up to five four filing cabinets of government documents, some described as sensitive, doesn’t come from the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, but from a former NIO minister, David Hanson. Now at the UK government’s Ministry of Justice, David Hanson has responsibility for the Northern Ireland Court Service and appears to be indicating that the papers found were legal documents which should have been archived by an independent contractor. From the report
David Hanson, the minister of state at the Department of Justice in London which is responsible for the Northern Ireland Court Service, has commissioned an urgent review of the arrangements.
He said: “I am concerned to learn that old records, which were held for safe storage on behalf of the court service, were misplaced in this way.”
Four filing cabinets.. misplaced.. in outbuildings.. near Ballygawley..It’s also worth noting this report on the discovery
The discovery of the files at Todds Leap Road near Ballygawley has been the subject of two official statements today, one from the police; the other from the court service.
News of the police operation broke late yesterday afternoon, but it is understood that the files were found as long ago as Friday.
It is believed that as many as five filing cabinets with files relating to the courts and justice system were found.
At Stormont, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) called for an urgent inquiry.
The police in Omagh are drawing up a detailed inventory of the files which were found at Todds Leap Road. They also say they are investigating how the files came to be there.
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