Colleagues may be aware of media coverage in recent months about access to the diaries of the Earl and Countess of Mountbatten, part of the Broadlands Archives which was acquired by our University in 2011. Coverage is also likely this week as redactions to some of the papers under the Freedom of Information Act are being considered at an Information Tribunal appeal involving the Cabinet Office and the University.
The University is unable to comment in detail whilst legal proceedings are active, but has made its position clear in the following statement:
“More than 99.8% of the Broadlands Archives, which consist of some 4500 boxes, is publicly available and accessed regularly by researchers globally as an invaluable historic resource.
“As part of the allocation of the Archives in August 2011, we were directed to keep a small number of the papers closed until otherwise advised. After communications from the Cabinet Office, we have now published all the diaries of Earl Mountbatten and Countess Mountbatten of Burma and the vast majority of their correspondence that we hold.
“We have always aimed to make public as much of the collection as is possible whilst balancing all our legal obligations. We have also organised exhibitions, conferences and other events which allow the public to enjoy and appreciate the archives.
“All diaries and correspondence can be accessed online with words or short extracts redacted and there are very few entries redacted in full. These are under exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act and are the subject of a hearing.”
