Nuclear Freedom of Information Victory10 December 2009
The Information Commissioner has ordered the Cabinet Office to give Friends of the Earth previously secret information about the Government's nuclear energy policy.
More than three years ago, having seen a draft of the unpublished 'Energy Review', Prime Minister Tony Blair told the CBI conference that nuclear power was "back on the agenda with a vengeance."
We immediately wrote to the Prime Minister asking for a copy of the briefings he had been given about the Energy Review.
"Extremely sensitive" information
The Cabinet Office refused to give us the information so we complained to the Information Commissioner.
Then the Cabinet Office refused even to send the information to the Commissioner to investigate the complaint, saying it included "extremely sensitive" information.
The Commissioner issued a formal Information Notice ordering them to give him the information, after which he upheld our complaint.
The Cabinet office has now been ordered to release most of the information we asked for.
In particular, he has ordered them to release internal briefings to the Prime Minister and the minutes of his Energy meeting the day before the CBI conference.
Public Interest
The Commissioner ruled that:
"There are strong public interest factors in favour of disclosure because of the importance of the information to the public debate about the UK's long-term energy strategy and to the public's ability to contribute to the democratic process of policy formation."
Phil Michaels, Friends of the Earth's Head of Legal said:
"This is an important and long-overdue ruling."
"There is a huge public interest in this information being released and we hope that the Prime Minister does not try to drag out this sorry saga any further with an appeal."
"We look forward to sharing this information with all those interested in these hugely important issues."
© Ian Homer
