‘Double standards’ over FoI, warns former top civil servant

TWO of Britain’s most senior mandarins have gone to war over plans to curb freedom of information laws which risk increasing the “worryingly large gap” between the government and the public.

Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, yesterday criticised Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, for claiming that the laws have had a “chilling effect” on Whitehall.

He also accused ministers of “double standards” for seeking to restrict the freedom of information laws while routinely leaking official information when it suited them. He strongly criticised the composition of the Governmentappointed commission set up to review the FoI Act, saying that it was largely made up of people who had spent their lives “defending institutions, not challenging them”.

Appearing before an independent cross-party review chaired by Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader, Lord Kerslake said: “If people are experiencing a chilling effect it’s largely in their own heads, not in the reality. The act is now a mature piece of legislation with perfectly predictable outcomes.

“The far greater challenge is the fact that information is routinely leaked by special advisers and ministers. There is a double standard going on here we should just acknowledge.”

Lord Kerslake said FoI had “shifted the culture” in government in favour of greater disclosure and warned that any attempt to restrict it would further undermine public trust.

He said: “We have, in my view, a yawning gap between the governing and the governed in this country.

“The only way that we can restore that trust is to become more accountable, not less.”

It came as ministers were accused of spending an estimated £30,000 trying to keep the meetings of Andrew Lansley, the former health secretary, a secret.