Information law will further restrict access, critics claim
Although it already has some of the toughest restrictions on access to information in Europe, Britain is set to further tighten regulations through the introduction of a Freedom of Information Bill, critics claim.
The bill is set to be one of the most contentious laws introduced in the current parliamentary session and comes despite the ruling Labour Party's pledge to build a more open government.
Restrictions on public access to official information are based on the Official Secrets Act introduced earlier this century that forbade the disclosure of any information in any circumstances in a bid to prevent espionage.
Steady relaxation of these regulations in areas covering individual health records and data held for commercial purposes has gradually been introduced.
But Britain still lags behind many other European nations such as France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, which have already made government documents available to the public.
British journalists have to take advantage of US freedom of information laws to search archives in Washington for details of decisions made in London.
Many fear that the new law, while allowing individuals to find out what information is held about themselves, will restrict details being released on how officials make decisions.
Under the proposals, government ministers and other officials will have the final say on whether information should be disclosed.
The Campaign for the Freedom of Information pressure group said the bill suffered from fundamental defects, as it allows ministers the power to block access to documents.
The group's director, Maurice Frankel, said the new bill would allow regulatory bodies to withhold information even when it might benefit public safety.
The law would also encourage authorities to insist on knowing the applicants' motives for seeking the information and to prohibit them from making it public, he said.
Associations representing consumers, environmentalists, the media and librarians, along with church and civil liberty groups have all strongly opposed the bill.
Bob Satchwell, director of the Society of Editors, said the new bill would actually make work more difficult for journalists.
Home Secretary Jack Straw indicated on Tuesday he might be willing to further amend the bill.
