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Pioneering FOI peer calls for investigation into ‘Orwellian’ Cabinet Office unit

Lord Clark calls for inquiry in wake of openDemocracy’s revelations about the secretive unit ‘blacklisting’ journalists and blocking Freedom of Information

By Peter Geoghegan
Pioneering FOI peer calls for investigation into ‘Orwellian’ Cabinet Office unit
FOI architect Lord Clark | Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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A Labour peer who was instrumental in the Freedom of Information Act becoming law has called on the government to launch an investigation into a controversial unit that screens journalists’ FOI requests and obstructs the release of sensitive information.

As openDemocracy has revealed, the Cabinet Office runs a Freedom of Information ‘Clearing House’ that instructs other Whitehall departments on how to respond to requests. It also shares personal information about journalists in ways experts say could be breaking the law.

Lord Clark of Windermere described the Clearing House operation "outrageous" and called on the government to launch an investigation.

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