Relight My FOIA

  • How the government defends the right to lobby in secret

    Lobbying is often seen as a dirty word, when actually, done correctly, it is an important part of democracy. Without effective lobbying, for example to point out the downsides of a rather brave policy, an over enthusiastic government can blunder into unforced errors that cost the public and businesses for little gain. The job of an investigative journalist is in many ways that of a lobbyist. Ultimately, the point of news investigations is to shed light on things that are going badly wrong, in the hope that those in power are inspired, compelled or embarrassed into trying to fix them.…

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  • A new way of delaying transparency

    Turn your minds back to the late Sunak era, and you might remember a story about his declarations of interests. He was given a ticking off by the parliamentary commissioner for standards, after he had not declared his wife’s shareholding in a childcare company which would benefit from a government policy to pay incentives to childminders entering the sector. This breach was ruled inadvertent by the commissioner. The issue came in part because not everything that is disclosed on the ministers list of interests is disclosed on the MPs register of interests. Under current rules, ministers must declare anything that…

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  • A national security risk? Blair’s FOI debates

    For my first blog, we’re digging into the National Archives. Every year, the National Archives released a cache of Cabinet Office papers under the 20-year rule. These disclosures often provide rather entertaining anecdotes from previous governments, such as Alastair Campbell’s brave idea to host a Rangers Celtic Derby in Belfast during the peace process. I attempted to pop down to the archive at Kew last year, after a little bird told me included in the documents there was some material on the implementation of the freedom of information act. As an FOIA nerd of my calibre, I couldn’t resist. Sadly,…

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  • Welcome to Relight My FOIA

    My name is George Greenwood, and I am an investigative reporter at The Times. I specialise in using transparency law to fight for access to the kinds of records that can hold government to account. You can read my reporting on The Times website here. This blog will include occasional thoughts from me on what is going right and wrong in British information law. Freedom of information is a crucial democratic right. It is a key tool for journalists in doing their jobs, for campaigners to shed better light on issues close to their hearts, and for ordinary people to…

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