Skip to content

Clearing House: Government admits it’s done nothing about ‘Orwellian’ unit

Cabinet Office pledged to review a unit that blocked Freedom of Information requests. Five months on, it hasn’t even appointed an investigator

Clearing House: Government admits it’s done nothing about ‘Orwellian’ unit
The Cabinet Office was a repeat offender in critical rulings over the government’s handling of FOI requests | Artur Widak/NurPhoto/PA Images
Published:

The UK government has admitted it still hasn’t appointed anyone to review its controversial ‘Clearing House’ – nine months after a judge slammed the shadowy information unit for a “profound lack of transparency”.

Speaking to MPs on Thursday, a Cabinet Office official said it would find someone to lead a review into the secretive operation “as soon as we possibly can”, but the department still could not provide a timeframe.