Drama will be broadcast Feb 23rd
Feb 15, 2010 Campaigns, FOI in Parliament, FOI in the news
The dramatisation of my campaign to open up Parliament now has a date.
On Expenses (formerly Bringing Down the House) will have its first broadcast on BBC4 at 9pm on Tuesday February 23rd. Don’t miss it!! I’ve done an interview with Martin Bell for the Radio Times and will be in tomorrow’s (Feb 16th) Woman’s [...]
Bad-mouthing FOI
Jan 29, 2010 FOI in the news, Freedom of Information, Law Enforcement
I notice the naysayers are peeping their heads over the parapet again. I’m serving notice that any public servants moaning about having to account to the public under the Freedom of Information had better be prepared to undergo some intense investigation on their spending. I’ll be keeping my eye out for any FOI bad-mouthers in [...]
When Brooke met Brooker
Jan 29, 2010 Access Laws, FOI in the news
I’m on the most recent episode of Charlie Brooker’s wonderfully acerbic Newswipe. Readers of my twitterfeed (@newsbrooke) may know that I’m a big fan of Brooker’s style of caustic and insightful humour so it was a real pleasure to be interviewed for the second series of his show about the news.
You can watch the [...]
Casting announced for expenses film
Dec 9, 2009 FOI in Parliament, FOI in the news
Filming began on Saturday for the BBC4 Drama ‘Bringing Down the House’ about my battle with the House of Commons for MPs’ expense receipts. Today the cast list was published.
Two-time BAFTA winner Anna Maxwell Martin is holding her own against a slew of older men playing the parts of the old boys network in [...]
Expect libel reform now that MPs are affected
Dec 7, 2009 FOI in Parliament, FOI in the news
To some it might seem that today’s article in the Guardian is bad news:
Super-injunctions do limit freedom of speech, Speaker’s lawyers advise
• Guidance contradicts justice minister’s stance
• Select committee fears for parliamentary privilege
But that is to overlook the historic tradition whereby MPs don’t give a fig about the invasion of our privacy, civil liberties or [...]
Reformer of the Year
Nov 19, 2009 Campaigns, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information
I don’t get to blog much these days as I’m in the final weeks of my book deadline but I ought to mention that I recently received a very welcome piece of news: I won the title of Political Reformer of the Year 2009 after an online election held by the think-tank Reform.
I was [...]
When Heather met Paxman
Oct 13, 2009 Campaigns, Central Government, FOI in Parliament, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information
The story that keeps on giving has given me another blast on the airwaves. I’ve been on the TV and radio the last few days talking about the internal audit done on MPs’ expenses in which several hundred MPs have been asked to pay back money. I’ve been brutal, accepting only a few requests due [...]
Article: Top cops’ pay should not be top secret
Aug 10, 2009 Articles, Campaigns, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information, Law Enforcement
Top cops, come clean
The Guardian, 10 August 2009
By Heather Brooke
Secrecy feeds suspicion of a boys’ club stitch-up. Chief constables need to be open on pay and perks
Secrecy can be sexy. It’s essential to any good mystery novel. But there should be no mystery surrounding the pay of top public officials. In October 2008 I made [...]
Bigger moats to clean
Jun 11, 2009 Campaigns, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information
In the hoo-ha about the Government’s new plans to be more transparent we should not be surprised that these reforms also include attempts to be more secretive. In the same way the Zimbabwe Government shut down newspapers under that country’s Freedom of Information law, so this Government plans to make Cabinet minutes automatically exempt from [...]
Article: A Prime Minister’s conversion to openness
Jun 11, 2009 Articles, FOI in Parliament, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information
Freedom of information? It’s a state secret
The Times, June 11, 2009
By Heather Brooke
Promises of more open government have been made before
When it comes to politicians advocating open government the best advice is to ignore what they say and focus on what they do.
Yesterday, Gordon Brown used the dreaded word “transparency”. I have been campaigning for [...]
