Archived press release

WORSE THAN IT EVER WAS. "Freedom of Information Bill" Threatens Key Environmental Rights

12 July 1999

A new analysis of Jack Straw's “Freedom of Information Bill”, published today, shows that it threatens existing rights to freedom of information relating to the environment. Friends of the Earth say that if the Bill is passed in its current form, the Government will face a series of law cases in both the British and European courts.

European Union Directive 90/313/EEC requires all member states to allow citizens' access to environmental information. The Directive has been put into law in the UK in the Environmental Information Regulations 1992, amended in 1998 after pressure from the European Commission. FOE has used these Regulations on a regular basis to obtain information on issues ranging from the Ilisu Dam scandal to GM foods. Britain has also promised to ratify the Aarhus Convention, agreed by 39 European Government. The Convention also guarantees access to environmental information to every citizen.

Analysis by Friends of the Earth lawyer Peter Roderick shows that a series of exemptions in the Bill, which would allow Governments and other public boides to withold information,contradict both the Directive and the Convention. 5 exemptions need to be deleted entirely to comply with the Directive and Convention, a further 5 need to be partly deleted, and a further 10 need to be amended to include a stiffer test of actual harm.

Among the exemptions needing complete deletion are:

. the spin doctors exemption. Under Clause 17 of the Bill, no information has to be released to the public if it is being held “with a view to its ... publication at some future date (whether determined or not).”

. the money doesn't talk exemption. Under Clause 24 of the Bill “information is exempt ... if its disclosure ... would, or would be likely to, prejudice the economy”. This could include information on the Ilusu Dam in Turkey, because British construction firm Balfour Beatty is seeking a £200 million export credit from the UK Government to participate in the consortium involved in this environmentally disastrous project.

. the we are the Borg exemption. Clause 28 of the Bill allows Governments to withhold any information if it “relates to the formulation or development of Government policy”,if disclosure would “prejudice the maintenance of collective responsibility of Ministers

... inhibit the free and frank provision of advice ... or would otherwise prejudice ... the effective conduct of public affairs”. This could prevent anyone from knowing, for example, that an Environment Minister might have disagreed with a Trade Minister over the desirability and safety of GM food.

. the two and two might make four exemption. Under Clause 37 of the Bill, described by FOE as “a priceless product of Sir Humphrey's reactionary ingenuity”, information can be suppressed even if its publication would have none of the allegedly damaging effects covered by other exemptions - if other information exists which might at sometime in the future become public knowledge and if all the information put together might fail the test of “prejudice” elsewhere in the Bill

The Bill also includes a clause on safety information which would mean that all official reports on road, rail, ferry or air accidents. accidents involving fires, dangerous consumer products,or chemical and nuclear incidents could be kept secret. Information obtained during investigations into the risks caused to workers and the public by industrial hazards will also be exempt, even if disclosure would cause no harm of any kind.

A copy of the full analysis of the Bill is available from FOE Press Office

Commenting, FOE lawyer Peter Roderick said:

“This Bill is a disgrace. It breaks European law on freedom of environmental information in numerous ways. If it is passed as it stands, the UK and European courts will be kept busy into the indefinite future finding against the British Government for undermining the rights of every citizen to vital information about the environment. What an awful come-down for a Party that fought the General Election promising to make freedom of information a central principle of Government.”

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust