Cabinet papers on the web
Updated on 04 December 2008
More than half a million pages of government documents are available for the very first time on the internet.
Thanks to a project launched by The National Archives on its website, Cabinet papers from a 60-year period have been digitised and can now be accessed for free by the public.
Now anyone interested in the decisions made at the highest levels of Government can search for them online as part of the Cabinet Papers, 1915-1977 project.
It will provide an opportunity for historians, students and those interested in political history to delve into key Cabinet discussions from the last century.
Users will be able to search the entire collection, opening up a vast amount of information to people all over the world.
The website will include a series of teaching aids, such as interactive maps and images. Officials hope it will become a valuable resource for students, covering topics which form an integral part of exam syllabuses.
Edward Hampshire, contemporary records expert at The National Archives said: "This is an extremely valuable collection in terms of modern British history, and for the first time we have been able to open it up to everyone, not just those who are able to come to Kew.
"While we have created some fantastic resources for students, we hope the tools will help to open up the files to everyone with an interest in British history and politics.
"After all, this is recent history, and many of us will have lived through, and been affected by, the momentous issues and decisions recorded in these records."
The records will be free to access and download in schools and colleges teaching A-Levels in England and Wales for 10 years, universities and colleges in England and Wales for five years, and to everyone else for 18 months. The papers can be found at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers.
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