Remember the news that the government backed out of trying to make MPs expenses secret, after a combination of events including many people in the UK writing to their MP, the Tories saying they’d vote against it and masses of people joined the Facebook group (currently over 9,000 people and still growing) to express their unhappiness with the idea?
We got in touch with the Island’s MP, Andrew Turner, to find out how he would have voted if he’d had the chance.
It’s reassuring to hear from Andrew that he “would have voted against those proposals” and that he will “continue to oppose any future Government proposals to limit transparency of MP’s expenses.”
Freedom of Information is important
As Andrew points out, “the Government’s proposal was completely contrary to the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.”
We, like many, are passionate believers in the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
In a world where institutions sometimes try to avoid releasing information that the public should know, it’s the FOI Act that ensures that the public – and the press – find out things that they should rightfully know.
Any attempt to restrict or deny the Freedom of Information should be resisted to the maximum.
Image: ARendle
