The SD Files 1886-1894

Home Office did not have the information requested.

Dear Home Office,
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act,
I am respectfully requesting the opening of the SD/CID Files from 1886-1894 held apparently in perpetuity, and their contents' details be sent to me in full.
The reason for my request is that the files contain a file, with many papers on the subject of, and entitled, I believe, The Whitechapel Murders. I make this request also, that the contents are opened to me in full, without being sifted through on beforehand. This has, sadly, been done before on files that were originally opened to the public relating to this case.
This subject is a prickly subject, as Mr Anderson, Ass Commissioner at the time, in conjunction with the Home Office, decided to make these files, connected to Fenianism,and others pertaining to the Whitechapel murders, unavailable for public scrutiny at any point in time.
Upon verbal and written requests, serious researchers have been told the following:-
1) The files are held in perpetuity because of the link to National Security.

2) Also because of the effect of the names in the files would have upon the families concerned, be they from the time of the murders, or the relatives of these people to the present day.

The obvious argument to these two points are:-

a) If the subject itself was a subject involving National Security, this surely cannot apply 122 years later! The problems around Fenianism in the 1880's do NOT apply today, especially as the IRA, the offshoot of Fenianism, has been officially disbanded.

b) I cannot accept that 5 generations down the line, people would be affected by any name involved in something so long ago, unless the victims themselves were involved in undercover work, such as "Jenkinson's girls". This would only reveal the use of these people as part of the undercover operations in trying to infiltrate the Fenian organisation. Surely, after 122 years, this is no longer a problem.

There is a precedent for these files to be made public. Douglas G Browne, author of The Rise and Fall of Scotland Yard, in 1956, was given access to these files in 1955/6.
In his book, he relates to files that have never been seen by anyone else, quoting that the Commissioner, Melville MacNaughten appears to identify the Ripper with the leader of the plot to assassinate Mr. Balfour at the Irish Office."
Therefore, a person HAS seen these contents before anyone else. In his introduction, he thanks "the generous help of the authorities at New Scotland Yard in being given access to the records without such work he had contemplated could not have been undertaken." In five passages he uses words drawn directly from the Home Office and Scotland Yard Files and not known to occur anywhere else.
The documentary evidence to have enabled Browne to make the statement about MacNaughten, MUST have come from the SD/CID files, as ipso facto, the mentioning of the Fenian murder plot must have been held within THOSE files.Re National security.

I hope, that after 122 years, you will kindly supply me with ALL the information contained within these Files, which are KNOWN to exist. Fact.

Respectfully, and with sincerity

Yours faithfully,

Phil Carter

Home Office

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Carter,

 

Please find attached correspondence regarding your Freedom of Information
request.

 

Regards,

 

Information Access Team, Home Office

 

 

 

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Information Access, Home Office

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Carter,

 

Please find attached a response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards,

 

Information Access Team, Home Office

 

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Information Access, Home Office

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Carter,

 

We spoke on Tuesday, 23^rd March regarding my response to your FoI
request. We ran another search on the Home Office records database for the
‘SD/CID Files from 1886 – 1894’. We have no record of it in our existing
catalogue or in our records transferred to the National Archive (TNA). I
am sorry I cannot be of further assistance to you and recommend that you
contact the National Archive for advice.

 

You are entitled to request a formal internal review if you are
dissatisfied with my original reply. The details are in the response
attached.

 

Regards,

 

L. Fisher

 

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
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