Freedom of Information at risk...

Supporters of freedom of information are being urged to mobilise their forces to safeguard the scope of the 2000 Freedom of Information Act. Campaigners fear that a review into the operation of the provisions of the Act – which is being conducted by the House of Commons Justice Select Committee – could be used as an excuse by the coalition government to impose new restrictions and exemptions.

The first deadline for responses to the Justice Select Committee is Friday 3 February. But the necessity in the long term is to generate user and public support for the Act and to lobby MPs to vote against any move to limit its scope.

Would users of the Act please start collating details of their experiences; the more data that can be collected proving the wider public good of freedom of information legislation, the greater the chances of heading off any threat to this widely-used right.

Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information and the campaign's research officer Katherine Gundersen outlined their concerns to Nicholas Jones on this new CPBF podcast.