Straw appears at a press conference with United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. - Image via Wikipedia

Britain Refuses To Publish Cabinet Record Of Iraq War Decision

February 25, 2009
(RFE/RL) -- The British government says it has vetoed publication of minutes from ministerial discussions about the legality of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw used the justification of "exceptional circumstances" to prevent publication of the cabinet records under the Freedom of Information Act.

In doing so, Straw overthrew a ruling by the British Information Tribunal, which had ordered the government to make available the records in the public interest.

Some lawmakers greeted his announcement with cries of "shame!"

Straw told the House of Commons that his decision to use the veto was motivated by his desire to avoid weakening the cabinet style of government, which he described as an integral part of British democracy.

"In short, the damage that disclosure of the minutes in this instance would do would far outweigh any corresponding public interest in their disclosure," Straw said.

He said that a key feature of the cabinet style of government is that it provides a space for thought and debate in private, and that advantage of candor would be lost if ministers knew their deliberations could be made public at any time.

Normally in Britain, cabinet papers are kept closed for 30 years.

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FoI campaigners condemn MPs bid to hide expenses

FoI campaigners condemn MPs' bid to hide expenses



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15 January 2009
By PA Mediapoint, Press Gazette reporters

The Government has been accused of "disgraceful" behaviour after another bid was launched to sidestep a ruling ordering publication of details of MPs' expenses under Freedom of Information law.
The Commons authorities have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds scanning and redacting about a million receipts from claims since losing a lengthy FoI battle last May.
But none of them will be released under plans set out by Leader of the House Harriet Harman Image by Getty Images via Daylifethis afternoon.
Instead, the law will be changed retrospectively so that MPs' expenses are published annually under 26 categories, rather than the current 13.
"The public will have more information than they ever have before and we will take it back to 2005 so that for all members, each year their allowances against 26 headings will be made public," Harman told the Commons.
A spokesman for the Commons leader confirmed that if parliament approved the measures, the receipts would not be published - although the Information Tribunal and High Court had ordered that they should be.
But the House authorities said the process of redaction would continue at least until the proposals were passed.
Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "It is an absolute disgrace that the Government are going to such absurd lengths to keep MPs' expenses secret from the very people who pay the bills.
"This is taxpayers' money, these are elected representatives and the people have a right to know how their money is being spent.
"These desperate measures will only harm Parliament's standing by making people wonder what it is that politicians have to hide."

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