Weakening FOI laws will damage our democracy, warns Sheen
MICHAEL SHEEN, the actor, has warned that the Government’s plans to curb Freedom of Information laws are a “full frontal attack” and will “seriously damage democracy”.
Sheen, who has portrayed former prime minister Tony Blair on screen three times, said the importance of the laws should “transcend political rivalries”.
His comments come as a cross-party commission considers changes to the legislation, potentially including more charges for access to material.
Sheen said: “The public right to know is a principle that transcends the political rivalries and jostling that make up the daily cut and thrust of the Westminster bubble.
“You don’t need to look too far afield to find examples of nations where citizens are denied this right, and to see the consequences for those people.
“When the public right to know is not upheld, government, at both a national and local level, becomes opaque and removed from the very people it is meant to serve.
“The consultation on the Freedom of Information Act, currently being undertaken by an ‘independent commission’ appointed by the Government, is nothing short of a full frontal attack on these principles. If the politicians and civil servants behind this assault get their way, then the right of you and I to understand the workings of our democracy will be seriously damaged.
“Newspaper journalism, whether local or national, has used FOI to hold the Government to account on everything from MPs’ expenses to staff shortages in the NHS.
“It is an essential medium for mak-
‘When the right to know is not upheld, government becomes opaque and removed from people’
ing sense of the wealth of information which the Freedom of Information Act provides access to.”
Sheen said he was a “passionate” campaigner, and “a strong NHS with the ability to provide excellent healthcare to citizens is particularly close to my heart”.
“Without a strong FOI Act, it would be much harder for me and those like me to see and understand the effects of Government policy on this vital service,” he said.
“That’s why I am voicing my support for a strong FOI Act which should be extended and strengthened rather than weakened.”