MPs not exempt from Freedom of Information Act
Friday, 20 April 2007 12:00 AM
A private members' bill by the former Tory chief whip David Maclean which would have exempted MPs from freedom of information enquiries has been blocked by a collection of MPs from all parties.
Lib Dem MP Norman Baker and a handful of others succeeded in 'talking out' the bill by discussing it for five hours. The bill now goes to the bottom of the pile of private members' bills, effectively killing it - unless the government decided to back it.
As a first delaying tactic, MPs conducted a vote on whether the debate should proceed in private.
The bill had succeeded in getting considerably further up the parliamentary ladder than most of its kind, having survived a committee stage and a second reading in the Commons.
Mr Maclean had claimed that the amendment to the Freedom of Information Act was so that MPs could enjoy a level confidentiality with their constituents: "When we write on behalf of constituents... we must be able to look them in the eye and say that in all circumstances what they tell us will not get out," he told MPs.
"It is like the relationship with a priest. We will write to an authority with their problem, but we guarantee that that information will not be leaked by us, or get into the public domain."
The bill would essentially remove Parliament from the list of public authorities obliged to release information under the Freedom of Information Act, however.
Peter Facey, director of Unlock Democracy, was among those who opposed the bill.
"The Freedom of Information Act already has exemptions for personal data and information provided in confidence," he said.
"According to its stated aim, it is therefore entirely extraneous. MPs cannot hide away from the fact that this bill is being introduced just weeks after they have been forced to publish more detailed information about their travel expenses.
"No-one is above the law. When politicians start to act as if they are, democracy itself is threatened," he said.
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