The minister responsible for the secret services in Poland, Janusz Palubicki, has been hurt in a car crash.

The accident near the town of Sochaczew west of Warsaw occurred as the chauffeur-driven car he was in swerved into the opposite lane colliding with an oncoming vehicle.

Its driver was also hurt.

Mr Palubicki has been playing a major role in a campaign to make secret files available to Polish citizens who had been spied on or harrassed by the secret police during the Communist regime.