From the Author
Following the publication of Who Owns Britain in September 2001, Adrian Sanders MP read key parts of the book into the Parliamentary record (Hansard) in debates about the Land registry. Startled by the MP's revelations, most of which were new to him, the Lord Chancellor's minister in the Commons, Michael Wills MP, who was in charge of the Land registry, asked that institution to tell him about itself. The Land registry told the minister that; It does not possess information about the acreage of England and Wales
That titles were recorded without recording the acreage of each title. The Land registry also informed the minister that it estimated that about 65% of England and wales was the subject of a register of title (and 35%) was not. But this was only an estimate. The Lord Chancellor also revealed in the preamble to the LanD registration act that freeholds in England & Wales were not freeholds. "The Crown" the Lord Chacellor said "is the only absolute owner of land in England & Wales; all others hold an estate in land. Estates, which derive from feudal terms of tenure, originally took many forms but were reduced by The Law of Property Act 1925 to two, an estate in fee simple, absolute in possession, generally known as freehold and an estate for a term of years absolute generally known as lease hold'.
The Government is committed to reforming both the nature of landownership in law, and to completing the Land Registry
About the Author
Kevin Cahill is a former army officer who has worked at both Westminster and European parliaments as an advisor and researcher. He is the author of books on business, trade and politics and helped produce the Sunday Times Rich List, as well as being a widely published investigative journalist.
