The New Dark Age

20 November 2015 — Liberty

Take action to save Freedom of Information today

This evening at 11.45pm, the Commission on Freedom of Information closes its call for evidence.

This is not unusual in itself – the Government often goes through stages of evidence-gathering ahead of policy or law change.

However in this case, the Commission is both unnecessary and dangerously stacked.

Take action to Protect Freedom of Information

The Act under scrutiny – Freedom of Information (FOIA) – has been used as a tool for transparency and accountability for over 10 years. Without it, we wouldn’t know about the MPs’ expenses scandal, or have seen positive changes to expenses rules as a result. Nor would we have known that more than 1,158 care home residents suffered dehydration-related deaths between 2003 and 2012. Or about the police use of tasers on children, the degrading treatment of detained migrants or dangerous deportation practices. The list goes on.

Crucially, The FOIA’s effectiveness was confirmed and hailed as ‘enhanc[ing] the UK’s democratic system’ by the Justice Select Committee, which in 2012 considered expert evidence from senior politicians, academics, civil servants, journalists and organisations such as Liberty.

And yet despite this, the Government are calling for further scrutiny to understand the ‘burden’ of the Act  – only three years later.

It’s almost as if they didn’t get the result they were looking for.

And the line-up of the new Commission? Five members, including Lord Howard who was exposed during the expenses scandal, Lord Carlile whose views on the importance of secrecy are well known, and Jack Straw who has said: “it is not a particularly well-constructed Act intellectually or jurisprudentially.” Totally impartial then.

Take action today and send the Commission on Freedom of Information the 2012 report.

The Government cannot simply ask and ask again until they have the answer they want to hear.

Resubmit the original Justice Select Committee reportand remind the Government that the Freedom of Information Act has already been thoroughly examined and must be protected.

We have very few pieces of legislation that let us hold our public bodies to account. The Freedom of Information Act is one. The Human Rights Act is the other. The Government is intent on restricting both, and we cannot allow them to get away with it.

Thank you for your continued support.