West End Letters: Damian Green | Confidential Home Office Information

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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 5 December 2008

Exposing unpleasant facts of life

• I WENT on radio and television to support the Conservative MP, Damian Green, who was held for allegedly receiving and passing on confidential home office information to the media.
All governments and councils of whatever political persuasion do everything in their power to keep unwelcome facts out of the public domain. And it is the job of opposition MPs and councillors, no matter of which party, to do their job and expose the unpleasant facts of life when it is in the public interest to do so.
All too often governments and councils categorise far too much everyday information as confidential. Too often it is seen as way of keeping politically-sensitive information out of the public eye.
The lessons from the Damian Green episode is that it makes little sense to keep everyday information secret as the media circus which follows is far more damaging when it eventually comes out than it would be by its general release.
Much less government information should be kept secret and the Freedom of Information Act has shown that it is perfectly possible to release masses of government and council information to the public and media without the wheels of the national and local state grinding to a halt.
The job of opposition MPs and councillors is never easy whatever the colour of the government or council they are up against. To use the full force of the state to keep opposition politicians in check is not only wrong and anti-democratic but it is hugely damaging to those in charge as those at the receiving end of interrogation inevitably gain the support of the public and the media.
In the coming months I will be urging the city council Conservatives to review the way in which general council information is still routinely given “confidential” status for no good reason.
Maybe because this time it was a Conservative MP at the receiving end of a nine-hour police interrogation they will see the need for change in the way in which Westminster council operates.
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg
Leader of the Labour Group
Westminster City Council

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld.
Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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