FOI in 2005: a brief review

FOI in 2005: a brief review

Rob Evans of the Guardian looks back at some of the major FOI-related news stories from 2005, including David McLetchie's resignation after the publication of details of his taxi expenses.

Evans looks at stories on Black Wednesday, Farming subsidies, Death rates, and Postcode justice (where data was obtained by the Times from the Crown Prosecution Service that revealed that criminal suspects are up to eight times more likely to go free in some parts of the UK than others: "This was the first significant use by a British newspaper of "computer-assisted reporting" - the technique of crunching data to uncover significant trends, which is often used by US reporters").

Fare disclosure: The Freedom of Information Act forced the downfall of Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie over his use of taxis, but what else has it revealed to the media in the past year? (The Guardian, 2 January 2006)

See also: Revealed: from nuclear tip plans to Blair's 'barmy' Simpsons star turn A brief guide to some of the official facts disclosed in the Freedom of Information Act's first year (The Guardian, 2 January 2006)