Government spending transparency bill
Jan 28, 2007 Access Laws, Central Government, Chapters, Freedom of Information
The Conservatives’ proposed bill for more transparent government spending is going through the House of Lords. Initially, the Bill’s drafters hoped the Bill would be called the Government Spending (Transparency) Bill but they were told by the Public Bill Office that ‘transparency’ is a slogan and slogans are not allowed. So instead it is called [...]
Launch Party
Jan 24, 2007 Book Updates, Freedom of Information
The launch party for the second edition of Your Right to Know was a glamorous affair at the Art Workers’ Guild in Holborn Monday night. It was fabulous to see so many people supporting freedom of information and the new book. We even had a surprise guest who ventured over from the bowels of the [...]
YRTK Launch Party
Jan 14, 2007 Freedom of Information
Pluto Press invites you to the launch of
Your Right to Know
A Citizen’s Guide to the Freedom of Information Act
by Heather Brooke
Monday 22nd January at 7pm
The Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR
RSVP
Helen Griffiths at heleng@plutobooks.com or 020 8374 6424
Minutes in the Media
Jan 13, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
Greg Dyke was on BBC Radio 4 yesterday discussing the publication of the BBC minutes. This prompted an unusual call-in from Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. Greg made a good point that it isn’t the job of the BBC Director General to be loved by the Culture Secretary. And I agree – can one imagine the Washington Post [...]
BBC Minutes published
Jan 11, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
The BBC sent me the full minutes to the BBC Governors’ meeting in which Greg Dyke resigned. They have also voluntarily published the minutes from a subsequent meeting in February 2004 related to the fallout from the Hutton report.
You can now read the minutes for yourself and judge whether the BBC Governors were justified in [...]
Tribunal victory: BBC must disclose Governors’ minutes
Jan 11, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
I won my first appeal to the Information Tribunal this week for the case heard 20th December 2006. The decision orders the BBC to publish secret documents that should reveal the reasons (if any) behind the Governors’ decisions to sack former director general Greg Dyke and issue an abject apology to the government for its [...]
‘Suspect Nation’ now on YouTube
Jan 11, 2007 Defence, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information
You can now see this Channel 4 documentary on YouTube. I worked with writer Henry Porter to explore the extent of universal surveillance in the UK, and whether the rights we have under the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Informaton give us any kind of protection to ensure this slew of personal information is [...]
