Abstract
Doubts about the commitment of the Government to its own Freedom of Information Act have again been raised by the leaking of a Cabinet memo from Lord Falconer, aimed at reducing the number of requests made under it.... Journalists should seek management support to campaign against Lord Falconer's plan while it is still being drawn up. Under the comparatively simple American rules, Federal agencies such as the FBI and CIA are still able to frustrate many inquiries, and that in a nation with a tradition of open government. Here, any encroachment on the Act must be resisted. In the words of Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information: "We have a functioning Act which has produced a substantial amount of previously undisclosed information. Of course, plenty of requests have been refused. But this is Britain: what did you expect?"
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