UK Media Rivals Unite to Protest Blocked Freedom of Information Requests
Competitors in practice but compatriots in trade, a group of current and former newspaper editors have come together, urging British lawmakers to probe a secretive government unit they say is obstructing Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
They signed a public letter on the openDemocracy political website which alleged Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove was operating a scheme to restrict journalists’ access to information through FOI requests. A shadow cabinet minister labeled the practice as “blacklisting” reporters.
It's a rare show of unity from traditional rivals in the British press trying to lift the cover on what the site called an “Orwellian” attempt by the government to keep journalists from accessing public information.
The editor of The Times, John Witherow, called the situation a “disgrace” and Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian, ripped government “time-wasting on legitimate FOI requests”, saying it stands “at odds with its global commitments to press freedom”.
Others signing on included the top editors of The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times and Daily Mirror, as well as Paul Dacre, Chief Executive of Associated Newspapers, Alan Rusbridger, former Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian, and Lionel Barber, former editor of the Financial Times.
They demanded FOI request answers be accelerated and greater support for the Information Commissioner’s Office, which oversees FOI applications from journalists wanting access to public records and data.
The site said it is working with the law firm Leigh Day bid to force the Cabinet Office to reveal full details of how the Clearing House operates. By now nearly 40,000 petitioners have joined the initiative.
Times Editor John Witherow said: "Transparency is not a privilege or a gift bequeathed to a grateful citizenry by a benign government. It is a fundamental right of a free people to be able to see and scrutinize the decisions made on their behalf.”
He added: "That message has failed to get through to the government of Boris Johnson, which seems hell-bent on making it harder. This is not only a disgrace, but a mistake.”
Viner also called for more powers for the Information Commissioner to investigate breaches of the law on FOI: “Given the huge amounts of public money now spent with private contractors, a clear commitment to greater transparency and a well-funded Information Commissioner are manifestly in the public interest,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said: “This government remains fully committed to its transparency agenda, routinely disclosing information beyond its obligations under the FOI Act, and releasing more proactive publications than ever before.”
A recent report released by openDemocracy showed that FOI response rates are at their lowest level since the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act 20 years ago.
When previously questioned by Members of Parliament, Gove had said that the government treats all FOI requests in “exactly the same way,” and that, “They’re applicant blind, so whether or not it’s a freelance journalist, someone working for an established title, or a concerned citizen.”
But openDemocracy reporter Jenna Corderoy said after sending an FOI to the Attorney General’s Office, she found staff in internal emails flagged that she was a journalist, giving a heads-up as to who she was.
In December, openDemocracy reported that the Clearing House had blocked the release of documents about an infected blood scandal, involving thousands of people who received contaminated transfusions.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) has criticized Johnson’s government for its “vindictive” response to media criticism over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, warning that press freedom in the UK is being eroded.
Michelle Stanistreet, General-Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, warned: "In 2016 the government tried to clamp down on Freedom of Information and they failed: there was a public outcry at the time and the plans were dropped. Now it's clear they just changed their tactics. The intended outcome is the same.
"To obstruct and restrict FOI shows the government's disdain for open and transparent government and basic democratic scrutiny. Journalists from across the media industry are united on this issue, we all want to see FOI fully restored. To restrict FOI is to undermine public interest journalism."