A cross-party group of MPs will introduce a Bill to Parliament on Bastille Day (Tuesday 14 July), to bring the King and the Royal Household under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Green MP Sian Berry, backed by cross-party Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru, SNP and Independent MPs, will present the new Bill to the House of Commons with a ten-minute speech on Tuesday.
If passed, the Bill would remove section 37 from the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which exempts “communications with the sovereign” and related people, such as their heirs, from the law.
It would also add a number of royal institutions to the list of Public Authorities in the Act, including the Royal Family, the Royal Household, and the Royal Archive at Windsor Castle which houses records from the last 250 years.
Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Sian Berry said:
“Today the people of France celebrate their ancestors who were fed up of an aloof regime they were unable to hold to account. In Britain, the Royal Family can remain aloof thanks to outrageous carve-outs under the Freedom of Information Act”
“This outrageous exemption unnecessarily shields what should be a perfectly normally accountable part of our constitution, and it has to go.
“Allowing the release of documents and data related to the royals would be a huge step for transparency, and enable the public, politicians and the press to truly hold this shadowy institution to account.”
Laura Davison, National Union of Journalists General Secretary, said:
“Freedom of Information laws were created to uphold the public’s right to know and promote transparency and accountability – vital principles within any democracy. There are several exemptions within The Freedom of Information Act to balance openness with protecting personal privacy, public safety, and the effective running of public affairs.
“There’s no clear justification for the section 37 carve-out, which does nothing to safeguard these principles. Rather it undermines press freedom and journalists’ right to report, obstructing their ability to uncover stories in the public interest and hold the highest public institution in the land to account.
“Journalists must be able to do their job. Last month a tribunal refused a claim by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to claw back £14,000 from freelance journalist and NUJ member Barnie Choudhury. The NUJ labelled the decision a sensible one, and our parliamentary group has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for a review and for more to be done to prevent other instances in the future. We urge MPs to support it.”
ENDS