Leaked, a memo to stop the leaks

Officials at the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) - an independent office of the Treasury - have been told they should dispose of internal assessments of IT schemes as soon as they have read them, according to leaked documents.

The move was condemned by the Tories, who accused the Government of trying to hide details of 'badly mismanaged' computer projects.

The guidance, leaked to Computer Weekly magazine, comes as the Government is involved in a legal battle to prevent the release of reviews of the its controversial £5.3 billion ID card scheme.

Ministers have been told to release the documents after a request under freedom of information laws, but the OGC is appealing against the decision at the High Court.

Major Government projects are subject to so-called 'gateway reviews' carried out by independent specialists to monitor their progress and likely success.

The Government has been accused of squandering huge amounts on failed computer projects over the years.

The all-party Commons Work and Pensions Committee concluded that massive and disastrous IT failures had brought misery to thousands of people.

The Child Support Agency, the Passport Office, the Prison Service and the Immigration Service have all been hit by problems.

MPs concluded that ministers 'seem to commit themselves to completely unworkable projects'.

As well as the massive IT programme that will be needed to run the ID cards scheme, the Government is also spending more than £12bn on a controversial new computer system for the NHS.

The leaked paper tells officials: 'You must securely dispose of the (final gateway) report and all supporting documents immediately after delivery of the final report.'

Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Heald said: "This demonstrates that Gordon Brown's recent promise to 'involve and engage people' more in politics is just more spin.

"The reality is that Gordon Brown's Treasury is probably the most secretive Government department, frequently dodging questions in Parliament and now issuing orders to undermine the spirit of freedom of information.

"It is hardly surprising that the Treasury wants to hide from the public the details of their badly mishandled computer projects and it seems that Gordon Brown's tendency towards obsessive secrecy and shutting out the public will continue with him as Prime Minister non-elect just as it did when he was Chancellor."

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable accused the Government of 'shockingly arrogant behaviour by those who should know they are accountable for public money'.

An OGC spokesman refused to say why it has ordered the 'secure disposal' of gateway reports.