MPs bid to stall bill to exempt Parliament from FOI requests
Posted by
Martin Stabe
on 19 April 2007 at 16:51
Tags: Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, a private members bill that would exempt Parliament from the Freedom of Information Act, will have its final reading in the House of Commons tomorrow morning.
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, who recently used the Act to force the House to disclose his fellow MPs’ travel expenses, has vowed to use fillibustering tactics to ensure that the bill runs out of time before passing.
And it looks like he’s been busy. Baker, along with a cross-party alliance featuring fellow Lib Dem Simon Hughes, Tory Richard Shepherd, Labour’s Mark Fisher and Plaid Cymru’s Hywel Williams — has tabled a long list of amendments to the bill.
Another amendment apparently aimed at undermining the thrust of the bill has been tabled by Labour MP Andrew Dismore, who is attempting to insert a clause to ensure that the bill does not prevent the disclosure of MPs’ expenses.
Tags: Freedom of Information
