“The Department of Health has lost a court battle to keep secret some details on abortion statistics.”
BBC News, 20th April 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
from the Inner Temple Library
“The Department of Health has lost a court battle to keep secret some details on abortion statistics.”
BBC News, 20th April 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Department of Health is making a High Court challenge today to stop figures being published on the number of late abortions on ‘less than perfect’ foetuses with physical abnormalities, including cleft palate and club foot.”
Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Highly embarrassing colonial-era files detailing the British army’s repressive tactics against Mau Mau insurgents in Kenya during the 1950s will be revealed in a landmark compensation case.”
The Guardian, 5th April 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Cutting funds for the poor and vulnerable to defend their rights will simply push the costs on to other government departments.”
The Guardian, 1st April 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Foreign office has issued guidance to all its staff for the first time on how to spot signs of torture.”
Daily Telegraph, 22nd March 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“New plans to extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to open up government and other bodies to public scrutiny, were unveiled by the Ministry of Justice today.”
Ministry of Justice, 7th January 2011
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“Equality commission set to launch formal assessment into the Treasury’s conduct prior to last month’s spending review.”
The Guardian, 26th November 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Government has published the details of a licence which allows the re-use of public and Government information on a perpetual, royalty-free basis regardless of any copyright or database rights that exist in the material.”
OUT-LAW.com, 7th October 2010
Source: www.out-law.com
“The Information Tribunal has ordered a Government department to publish most of the till-now withheld details of a major IT contract after ruling that the public interest was served better by disclosure than secrecy.”
OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2010
Source: www.out-law.com
“New Solicitor General Edward Garnier QC MP addresses the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association about the role of the Law Officers.”
Attorney General’s Office, 17th July 2010
Soruce: www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk
“The Crown Prosecution Service has told the attorney general’s office its 25% budget cut will ‘damage frontline services’ and ‘delay and possibly deny justice’, according to a copy of its draft submission to the Treasury, which the Guardian has seen.”
The Guardian, 14th July 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Prime Minister joined Kenneth Clarke in asking the public to hold the Ministry of Justice to account through a list of departmental priorities launched today. The Structural Reform Plan (SRP) sets out clear priorities and transparent milestones for every department across Government, allowing the public to check whether commitments are met.”
Ministry of Justice, 13th July 2010
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“The Food Standards Agency is to be abolished by Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, it emerged last night, after the watchdog fought a running battle with industry over the introduction of colour-coded ‘traffic light’ warnings for groceries, TV dinners and snacks.”
The Guardian, 12th July 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The attorney general has delivered a stinging attack on the former government, saying it ‘lured’ law officers into a policy-making role.”
The Guardian, 7th July 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The government was today (5 July) accused of declaring war on trade unions as ministers moved to cut the redundancy terms of public sector workers and reports emerged of plans to tighten up the law on strike ballots.”
The Guardian, 5th July 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Home Office has been accused of telling gay and lesbian asylum seekers to avoid persecution back home by keeping their sexuality secret.”
BBC News, 6th July 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The head of the Government’s legal team has apologised for failings in the preparation of a high-profile court case involving Sharon Shoesmith, the council chief blamed for the Baby P scandal.”
Daily Telegraph, 17th June 2010
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Almost one in four Freedom of Information requests are being turned down by Government departments and public bodies, and the trend is getting worse.”
Daily Telegraph, 31st May 2010
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission for England and Wales have agreed a statutory protocol governing how Government departments and the Law Commission should work together on law reform projects.”
Ministry of Justice, 29th March 2010
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“Hundreds of civil servants working in the courts and justice system are to lose their jobs or face relocation after Jack Straw announced the abolition of a third of his department’s agencies.”
The Independent, 25th March 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The recent controversy over bonuses paid to civil servants employed by the Ministry of Defence highlights the public interest in salaries and bonuses of public sector officials.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 10th December 2009
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“Slaughter and May could lose its crown as the Government’s preferred legal adviser on the banking crisis. In the biggest legal shake-up since the bank bailouts started two years ago, the Treasury is asking other firms to tender for the business.”
The Times, 29th October 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Nearly 2,000 people have had personal information about themselves lost by the Ministry of Justice over the past year, in a series of incidents listed in the department’s accounts, published last week.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th September 2009
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“The Government’s response to a Parliamentary report on the monitoring and legislation surrounding surveillance is ‘inadequate’ and it has ‘paid insufficient attention’ to the report’s recommendations, a follow up report has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd June 2009
Source: www.out-law.com</a
“Members of the public and journalists will be banned from seeing the contents of secret documents on the Cabinet and Royal Family under measures quietly announced by Gordon Brown last week.”
Independent on Sunday, 14th June 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A report finds almost a quarter of major databases are illegal. Is the data storage disproportionate?”
The Times, 27th March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Big Question: Are there illegal government databases and what can we do about it?.”
The Independent, 24th March 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The Government’s controversial plans to share personal data between departments and with the private sector are ‘too wide’ and the safeguards ‘weak’ according to privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).”
OUT-LAW.com, 18th February 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
“The Foreign Office faces further scrutiny over controversial aspects of its ‘dangerous’ counter-terrorism policy after a sacked whistleblower yesterday announced that he was beginning legal proceedings against it.”
The Guardian, 19th February 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Home Office broke data protection laws when a contractor lost a memory stick with information on thousands of prisoners, a watchdog has ruled.”
BBC News, 22nd January 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A Government plan to allow more extensive sharing of personal data is not restricted to the public sector and could result in Government-collected information being shared with private companies, a privacy expert has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 16th January 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
“Sweeping new powers allowing personal information about every citizen to be handed over to government agencies faced condemnation yesterday amid warnings that Britain is experiencing the greatest threats to civil rights for decades.”
The Independent, 15th January 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Government departments have failed to tighten data handling rules despite losing 30 million personal files in two years, it has been disclosed.”
Daily Telegraph, 12th January 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“An email sent by mistake from the Home Office to the BBC has revealed that freedom of information requests are often first reviewed by ministers.”
BBC News, 10th December 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The government was embarrassed by another data-loss scandal last night when the private details of up to 12 million people were put at risk after a memory stick was found in a pub car park.”
The Guardian, 2nd November 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Cabinet Office official who left top-secret documents on a train in June is to be charged under the Official Secrets Act, the BBC has learned.”
BBC News, 29th September 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Home Office has lost confidential information on every prisoner in the country and more than 40,000 serious criminals sparking yet another Government data crisis. ”
Daily Telegraph, 22nd August 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Sensitive data for more than four million people was lost by Government departments in the past year, on top of the high profile loss of child benefit records.”
Daily Telegraph,
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The Ministry of Defence (MoD) admitted more than 650 laptops had been stolen over the past four years – nearly double the figure previously claimed.”
BBC News, 18th July 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Whitehall department fighting benefit fraud and error will always lose more than £1bn of taxpayers’ cash every year to cheats and through mistakes, the civil servant running the department tells MPs in a letter published today.”
The Guardian, 8th July 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The loss of 25m child benefit records, including bank details and sensitive personal information, was brought about by a ‘woefully inadequate system’ and was ‘entirely avoidable’, according to two reports published yesterday.”
The Guardian, 26th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The government was criticised today for the ‘woefully inadequate’ handling of sensitive data at HM Revenue and Customs that led to the loss of CDs holding the personal records of 25 million people.”
The Guardian, 25th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Report on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act in central government in 2007, bringing together quarterly statistics and analysing longer term trends.”
Ministry of Justice, 18th June 2008
Source; www.justice.gov.uk
“A personal computer holding sensitive documents relating to defence and extremism has been stolen from Hazel Blears’ constituency office in Salford.”
BBC News, 17th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, was last night facing a Commons summons to explain how another batch of secret documents were left on a train.”
The Guardian, 16th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A police investigation has been launched after secret Government documents were left on a train, it was confirmed today.”
The Independent, 11th June 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Cunning computer hackers have hijacked the Home Office crime reduction website and used it to carry out an elaborate online scam.”
Daily Telegraph, 8th June 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The following guidance is aimed at people working in central government departments who deal with freedom of information requests. It may also be a useful reference tool for those working in other public authorities.”
Ministry of Justice, 14th May 2008
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“Secret deals between industry players and politicians have long been part of government business. Now, says Robert Verkaik, Law Editor, they will be subject to scrutiny.”
The Independent, 9th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“More than 600 staff at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have been disciplined for accessing personal or sensitive data, it has been revealed.”
BBC News, 1st May 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Yesterday’s court rulings highlight the delicate relationship between the executive and the judiciary — one in which judges increasingly hold ministers to account, and find them wanting.”
The Times, 25th April 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Government’s procurement arm has begun talks with all 48 firms on the Catalist legal panel, amid continued problems with the much-hyped attempt to centralise Whitehall legal spending.”
Legal Week, 24th April 2008
Source: www.legalweek.com
“The Department of Health is not dealing with freedom of information (FOI) requests properly because of a lack of staff, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said. The ICO has rebuked the Government department over its FOI behaviour.”
OUT-LAW.com, 14th April 2008
Source: www.out-law.com
“A request was made for a copy of the current internal departmental guidelines for briefing a minister. Below are copies of the guidelines requested. These cover submissions and briefings for the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State, other departmental ministers and the Permanent Secretary.”
Ministry of Justice, 28th March 2008
Source: www.justice.gov.uk