My statement, "Any previous mortgages taken out which have been settled are kept on file at the Land Registry" is what I was told by the Land Registry.(posted 8452 days ago)It may be that where a property is repossessed, the lender does ask for the deed back, and as the LR said, they will send if asked, but if the lender doesn't ask, the LR don't send.
My source of information is just a regular conveyancing solicitor, she's acted for buyers of repossessed properties, but not for lenders.
The problem with the law, is that its open to interpretation, nothing is straightforward. Most people on this board quote Hopkinson and Tupper as an example of the 6 year rule on shortfalls, but a litigation solicitor I know told me that in her entire career fighting lenders, she's never known a case succeed using that argument! Whereas Natwest might have used the Order 88 in their argument, they probably succeeded because they've damned good lawyers - which is usually how anyone wins their case, however small their chances were.