March « 2008 « Heather Brooke

Archive for March, 2008

Profiled in the Guardian

Saturday, March 29th, 2008

I was profiled in today’s Guardian ‘Interview’. I rule! hee hee. The online photo is a bit dodgy but there is a much better one in the full-page newspaper version so I suggest you rush out and get a copy while supplies last.

I’m very pleased to know that I’m “one of the country’s most influential voices against secrecy in government.” Hooray for me!!

Oh – and on a side note. There’s another story in today’s papers about our friend Michael Martin.
Refurbishing the home and garden of the Speaker of the House of Commons has cost the taxpayer £1.7 million.

Could this be the reason he’s so keen to block my requests for a breakdown of MPs’ expenses? Surely not!

Tags: Michael Martin, The Guardian
Posted in Freedom of Information | 7 Comments »

A Commons lack of reasoning

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

The farce continues!

In their attempt to avoid disclosing details of MPs’ expense claims, the House of Commons Commission and Speaker Michael Martin took the last-minute decision on Tuesday (March 25th 2008) to appeal the Tribunal’s ruling to the High Court. When angry MPs yesterday tried to find out the exact nature of the appeal, Speaker Martin gagged them, claiming the matter was ‘sub-judice’ and could not be discussed. The plain fact is that the Speaker has the discretion to allow this discussion on the House floor, and I can only assume he tried to stifle MPs’ queries because he knows that the reasoning behind the High Court appeal will not stand up to legal (or even public) scrutiny.

He might have refused to disclose the details to MPs but as a party in the case he cannot refuse to serve the appeal notice on me. I received it this morning and so, in the spirit of public service, here it is:

House of Commons Notice of Appeal to High Court

Posted in Freedom of Information, Politics | 7 Comments »

First Ministerial ‘head to roll’ from FOI

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

The Freedom of Information Act has claimed its first minister in the UK – Ian Paisley Jr.

Investigations correspondent David Gordon at the Belfast Telegraph (who I’m honoured to say came on my FOI course a few months ago) used the law to dig into Paisley Jr’s lobbying for a private developer. This was followed late Tuesday, by his father Ian Paisley Sr dramatically announcing his departure as First Minister and DUP leader. Though he denied he had been forced to go, the impact of his son’s fall from grace obviously contributed to his decision.

Just a few months ago, Ian Paisley Jr looked invincible and his father (Ian Paisley Sr) was the First Minister and head of Ian Junior’s department. As David writes:

His resignation followed months of scrutiny over his lobbying for north coast developer Seymour Sweeney on a proposed Giant’s Causeway centre development and other schemes. It came after weekend revelations concerning the Ballymena constituency office he and his First Minister father rent through their Stormont allowances.

After days of speculation, the Assembly yesterday issued the Belfast Telegraph with official figures for MLA rental claims. The disclosure, following a freedom of information request, stated that the Paisleys are each receiving £28,600 per year for the Church Street office. This combined total of £57,200 for one property is almost three times higher than the next highest MLA claim.

Gordon writes how the Freedom of Information Act played a key role in bringing down the junior minister. Could this by chance be the reason for Ian Paisley Sr’s repeated attempts to curtail FOI in Northern Ireland while angrily attacking the use of the Act by “lazy journalists” ?

Obviously, David Gordon is quite the opposite and it is politicians’ fear of the public getting hold of raw source material that is always at the root of such complaints.

I’m offering another course 18 March 2008 if you’re interested in learning how to use FOI, though I can’t guarantee another ministerial head. You can book through the National Union of Journalists website

Posted in Freedom of Information | 1 Comment »