London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

UK Tribunal To Decide On Mountbatten Diaries From Partition Period

UK Tribunal To Decide On Mountbatten Diaries From Partition Period

It covers an important period of British-Indian history, including when India's Partition was being overseen by Mountbatten and involves personal diaries and letters of both Lord Louis and wife Lady Edwina Mountbatten.
The personal diaries and letters of Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, are at the heart of an ongoing appeal hearing in London this week, to decide whether they can be fully released for open public access.

Judge Sophie Buckley is presiding over the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) appeal, scheduled for hearings until Friday, to determine the fate of some redacted sections of the diaries and correspondence dating back to the 1930s.

It covers an important period of British-Indian history, including when India's Partition was being overseen by Mountbatten and involves personal diaries and letters of both Lord Louis and wife Lady Edwina Mountbatten.

The UK Cabinet Office maintains that most of the information from those papers is already in the public domain and any withheld aspects "would compromise the UK's relations with other states", with reference to India and Pakistan.

"The Mountbatten collection is important historically but there are also important issues at state - not least abuse of state power and the censoring of our history," said Andrew Lownie, the historian and author of 'The Mountbattens: The Lives and Loves of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten' who has been fighting a four-year-long battle for the complete release of the papers.

In 2011, the University of Southampton purchased the archival material, named Broadlands Archive, from the Mountbatten family, using public funds of over 2.8 million pounds and with the intention of making the papers widely available. However, the university then referred some of the correspondence to the Cabinet Office.

In 2019, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had found in favour of Lownie and ordered the release of the entire Broadlands Archive - which also includes "letters from Lady Mountbatten to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the newly independent India (33 files, 1948-60), along with copies of his letters to her".

The University of Southampton had explained in response at the time that the correspondence between Lady Mountbatten and Nehru remained in private ownership and is "confidential but the University has a future interest in it".

That decision of the ICO has since been appealed, which is now being heard in the First-Tier Tribunal this week.

"The Cabinet Office have now narrowed the number of exemptions they are seeking to impose so most of the letters and diaries are available. This is a victory after four years of campaigning but there is still a legal bill of GBP 50,000 and so the crowfunding has to go on," noted Lownie, in an update from the hearings on Tuesday.

The author says he has spent his savings on the case and has raised over 54,000 pounds in pledges from the CrowdJustice.Com website to fund the ongoing appeal.

"This is an important archive and also involves crucial principles of censorship, Freedom of Information, abuse of power. No university should be blocking public access to archive material of great historical significance which it purchased using public money and for which tax income was forfeited," said Lownie.

The diaries of Mountbatten, who was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, an uncle to the late Duke of Edinburgh and great-uncle to Prince Charles, also contain personal correspondence within the royal family - another factor cited behind some redactions.

"Protecting the dignity of The Queen and working members of the royal family by protecting their privacy in truly private matters preserves their ability to discharge their duties in their fundamental and central constitutional role, not least of unifying the nation (as was seen during the depths of the current pandemic)," notes a written witness statement of Roger Smethurst, head of knowledge and information management at the Cabinet Office.

"Despite its age there is some information within the documents held by the University which, if released, would compromise the UK's relations with other states. The witness statement from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sets out the matters of potential harm and provides details for the Tribunal to consider in its balance of the public interest," the witness statement further notes.

Meanwhile, the hearing remains ongoing with oral witness statements and cross-examinations and a decision is expected at a later date.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×