This man is ‘affecting good government’
May 31, 2007 Access Laws, Central Government
I read an article this week that could have come directly from the pages of any Kenyan or Nigerian newspaper where politicians are fighting off demands for the introduction of a Freedom of Information Act. In the piece, a senior government minister claimed that freedom of information is “placing good government at risk” by forcing [...]
It gets worse
May 24, 2007 Justice & Courts
It turns out the libel law in England is even worse than I could possibly imagine. Now I have both Gina Ford and her solicitor Tony Jaffa on my case.
At least Gina Ford has contacted me directly and hasn’t demanded that I take down my blog posts. Her solicitor, however, has not. Instead he pressures [...]
Tackling Legionnaires’ disease using FOI
May 24, 2007 FOI in Parliament, Freedom of Information, Health
A debate in Parliament yesterday on Legionnaires’ disease provides another example of the many and varied benefits of freedom of information.
A company used the law to challenge a government policy on the best method for combatting the disease. The National Health Service recently updated its guidance to read: “the temperature control regime is the preferred [...]
MPs’ exemption passes
May 22, 2007 FOI in Parliament
A fiddle? Hardly. This was a Stradivarius. Quentin Letts
I’m in America this week and what a relief it is to be in a proper democracy with a proper constitution, transparency and freedom of information laws. Yes, transparency is in a worse state in the US than it has been for decades, but it’s still [...]
You couldn’t make it up
May 18, 2007 Justice & Courts
Well no sooner do I write about England’s draconian libel laws and the chilling effect they have on freedom of expression then I hear word that the solicitor for self-proclaimed childcare ‘expert’ Gina Ford has complained to the Times about my piece and they have now removed my article from their website while they deal [...]
Transparency of US Congress
May 18, 2007 FOI in Parliament
One argument being made in the current debate to exempt Parliament from the freedom of information act is that such an exemption is not unusual. Last week, a government minister pointed out that the US Congress is not subject to the American FOI Act.
That is true but the reason behind the exemption is entirely different. [...]
Tomorrow’s bill on exempting Parliament from FOI
May 17, 2007 FOI in Parliament
Tomorrow the private member’s bill exempting Parliament from its own freedom of information legislation revives for a second hearing. This is the bill that will not die. A team effort resulted in the publication today of several joint letters and articles speaking out against this bill.
There is a joint letter in the Daily Telegraph signed [...]
Article: libel out of control
May 14, 2007 Articles, Justice & Courts
Libel and freedom of information are intimately entwined. We cannot have true freedom of information if publishing such information is at the risk of being prosecuted. Such numerous and costly prosecutions have produced a chilling effect in this country where the knee-jerk reaction to controversial speech is censorship.
I should also mention that unlike the United [...]
