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UK government spent £40,000 hiding secretive Clearing House unit

Exclusive: The Cabinet Office has been accused of wasting taxpayer money on efforts to conceal a unit that helped block FOI requests

By Jenna Corderoy
UK government spent £40,000 hiding secretive Clearing House unit
The Cabinet Office has spent almost £40,000 on a legal battle to stop openDemocracy finding out about Clearing House | openDemocracy. All rights reserved
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The Cabinet Office spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to stop openDemocracy finding out about its ‘Orwellian’ Clearing House unit, the government has admitted.

The Clearing House has been accused of blacklisting journalists and blocking their Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Investigations by openDemocracy have revealed how it helped suppress sensitive information on issues ranging from Grenfell Tower to the contaminated blood scandal.

SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said it was time for the Cabinet Office to “stop behaving like a rogue department”.

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