Britain exempts monarchy from FOI law
Welcome to the open society:
What happens in the palace stays in the palace.
A law that took effect yesterday makes Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William exempt from freedom of information laws, meaning many details of their activities won’t be public for decades.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the exemption will protect the monarch’s private conversations with politicians and officials — but others say it will make it even harder to hold the royal family accountable.
For centuries, the workings of the monarchy were shrouded in secrecy, a blend of law, convention, deference, and media self-censorship. That media acquiescence is long gone, and under laws that took effect in 2005, information about the royal family could be released if it was in the public interest.
“It at least raised the possibility that information could be disclosed,’’ said Maurice Frankel of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. “What the [most recent] changes do is remove the public interest test — exemption becomes absolute.’’
Clarke, the justice secretary, said the new rule is needed “to protect the longstanding conventions surrounding the monarchy and its records.’’
But critics say Prince Charles has cast neutrality aside by peppering ministers with letters on behalf of environmental issues and his pet projects.
“What he’s doing in some of these cases is obviously lobbying,’’ said Frankel.
Britain exempts royals from FOI law (Boston Globe, 20 January 2011)
See also: More privacy for the Queen, less for everyone else (John Oates, The Register, 19 January 2011)
Go here to read Clarke's statement on Freedom of Information, from Hansard.
Posts
5 comments:
Wow. I would think the doings of the monarchy would be the LAST things that would threaten the security of the British state if they were publicly disclosed.
On the other hand, they might cause embarrassment, and as we all know the first reason to have secrecy laws is to prevent embarrassment, not protect national security.
Well that's no fun. If we want to get the scoop on anybody, it would be the Royal Family.
Information about these parasites should be available through FoI - after all, it's taxpayers money that supports them. They should be as accountable as anyone else - anyone heard of the separation of powers? And why are we wasting money on a trade ambassador who consorts with convicted paedophiles?
Great post! I think these points are so true.
Sample Information Request letter
The biggest maggot scroungers the Royals in the United kingdom are exempt from FOI, secret like the Law Society of Scotland. Now there is a surprise. Like Lord Gill one wants to keep one's interests hidden.
Post a Comment