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I sent FOIs to UK government departments – then they shared my personal data

openDemocracy reporter Jenna Corderoy on her personal experiences of trying to prise information from an increasingly resistant government.

By Jenna Corderoy
I sent FOIs to UK government departments – then they shared my personal data
Jacob Rees-Mogg was leader of the ERG when Jenna won the right to see some of its 'research' | Giannis Alexopoulos/NurPhoto/PA Images. All rights reserved.
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The Freedom of Information Act is 20 this year. On good days, I think how it is such an important tool for holding those in power to account. No matter who you are, where you live, what your political leanings are and what you do for a living, you can submit an FOI request to access information from your local council all the way up to Whitehall departments.

The Freedom of Information Act has been responsible for vitally important revelations. Without FOI, MPs could still be claiming for bath plugs and duck houses.

But on bad days – and I seem to have more of them lately – I despair at how our rights to access information are being eroded. And I despair at how the government is not allowing us even to understand how they treat our requests for information.

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