Controversial proposals to replace archived will documents with digital copies in order to save storage costs have been dropped, the Ministry of Justice has announced. In a move that will be welcomed by historians, a minister said the 'indispensable bridge' to the past would be preserved. 

The government was responding to a consultation document last year which proposed preserving wills as digital copies rather than original documents. Leading historians described the plan as 'sheer vandalism'.

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Paper wills could be destroyed under proposed storage reforms

Will

Historians described the plan to preserve wills as digital copies as 'sheer vandalism'

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In a statement this week, justice minister Sarah Sackman KC said: 'Thousands of people expressed their fierce opposition to the previous government’s proposal to destroy millions of historic wills, some dating back to the 1850s.

'These documents are an indispensable bridge to the lives of those who came before us. I am pleased to confirm that we will not destroy them, they will remain in storage, and – on request – are available for all to access.'