Just reposting the blog on 'Government by WhatsApp' by me and @mrosenbaum.bsky.social for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/governm...

Tony Blair on my radio doing full AI Silicon Valley boosterism Unrelatedly…. Tony Blair’s personal think tank has had or been pledged $350 million from Oracle boss Larry Ellison democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-the...

⚖️“Inexcusable” FOI failings cost Exeter University £15k. Upper Tribunal delivers sharp rebuke in four-year contempt case. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a0f1a...

"Most FOI officers are there to help you". @georgegreenwood.bsky.social is Investigations Reporter at the Times, and you can hear all of his 10 #FOI tips in 10 minutes, as shared at FOI Fest: www.mysociety.org/podcast/foi-...

Top tip from @benworthy.bsky.social - before you make a #FOI request, check no-one else has already asked for that info! And there are more tips where that came from: listen to Ben's full FOI Fest skills session here: www.mysociety.org/podcast/foi-...

The incredible Eleanor Shaikh continues to push for transparency around the #PostOfficeScandal - read the latest here (& how @dracos.co.uk's archive played a part) as she prepares to go to #FOI tribunal to uncover a potentially explosive piece of the puzzle: www.postofficescandal.uk/post/project...

One in eight people now start their #FOI with a chatbot. An ICO poll found 12% of sent a request after AI suggested it during research. For more, and some non-AI-assisted ideas:

The Cabinet Office kept no substantive report about the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone last year, nor of a report into allegations of bullying by Anotina Romeo, the cabinet secretary. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

A reminder - you have until 5pm on (bank holiday) MONDAY to submit ideas for the UK's next Open Government National Action Plan - 250 words is all you need www.gov.uk/government/c... Help here if you need it opengovernment.org.uk/the-seventh-...

🔴 NEW: Justice secretary David Lammy has told Parliament the government will "bring forward legislation" to tackle Slapps - abusive lawsuits used by oligarchs and the super-rich. Comments come in response to Democracy for Sale's recent investigation: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/we-investi...

📺 Starting soon! @alexparsons.bsky.social, @benworthy.bsky.social & @jennacorderoy.bsky.social are giving evidence to the Procedure committee about Written Parliamentary Questions and FOI. Tune in here: www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

CFoIS Director Carole Ewart has written for @thirdforcenews.bsky.social about the progress of the FoI Reform (Scotland) Bill, which will be considered at Stage 2 by newly elected MSPs. Read the article here: tfn.scot/opinion/will... #freedomofinformation #accesstoinformation #foi #ati

📣"Glacial pace" of post-Grenfell checks exposed. FOI shows high numbers of high-rise flats fail new safety tests. www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...

"FOI is really important" - that's what Warren Seddon from @infocommission.bsky.social said at FOI Fest, and we couldn't agree more! Listen to Warren's full keynote at www.mysociety.org/podcast/foi-... #FOI

📣Really interesting piece from @mysociety.org summarising the final session in the recent FOI workshop series they hosted. They invited FOI officers to discuss the biggest pressures they face and the day-to-day realities of administering the system. www.mysociety.org/2026/05/11/f...

The ICO has produced proposals to cut the number of FOIs government gets. Some of these could be defended, but others would undermine FOI. The ICO should be focussing on defending FOI, not giving government the intellectual cover for a crackdown relightmyfoia.blog/2026/05/11/i...

📣The extended paperback version of Andrew Lownie's bestselling biography of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is out in less than a month. Lownie filed hundreds of FOIs. Information which does not relate to Andrew's Royal functions, should largely be disclosable, yet virtually all requests were refused.

📣Heavyweight adviser lobbying behind closed doors’. Guardian FOI sparks demand for greater transparency in big tech deals. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🚨 CALL FOR EVIDENCE 🚨 The UK govt is currently looking for ideas for the next open govt national action plan, which covers transparency, accountability, open data, digital governance, public participation and more Closes 25 May, as many ideas of 250 words as you'd like www.gov.uk/government/c...

Join me at Midday on Thursday 21st May for this webinar, focusing on virtual meeting and messaging apps. Join me , @infocommission.bsky.social & @foi.scot to discuss this and what recent decisions teach us. Register: www.ecase.co.uk/event/to-hav... #FOI

📣FOI handling across government (2025): improved timeliness amid record volumes. Analysts link the increase partly to AI-generated submissions that may be inflating complaint volumes, as well as heightened public demand for accountability. www.gov.uk/government/s...).

Please support the CFoIS Manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections to secure transparency by design across public services. #freedomofinformation #accesstoinformation #foi #scotland #election

It's not been a great week for #FOI. Between the law in Ontario getting less transparent & a tribunal costs claim to put people off persistence. But people still got stories from their requests...

The third workshop which will help shape an FOI Network for campaigners, users and practitioners is happening online at 1130 next Wednesday, 29 April Topic: How could an FOI Network support Freedom of Information delivery & practice? Join us, especially if you're an FOI officer! luma.com/6pu7l2yj

In which I get pompous and hyperbolic about some minor withholding of information in a First-tier Tribunal judgment informationrightsandwrongs.com/2026/04/23/o...

In yet another attack on the public right to know, the Judicial Appointments Commission is seeking costs from a journalist who had the temerity to force it to respond to an FOI ruling he says it was not complying with by seeking court enforcement action. www.thetimes.com/article/8d9e...

Using FOIs, open-source data, coroners’ reports, interviews with bereaved families and a whistleblower, we’ve spent months building a picture of trans deaths in the UK. What we found is devastating. Don’t miss our full investigation, coming Saturday with @goodlawproject.org

🚨 NEW: Inside Big Oil's campaign to push Labour to drill the North Sea Oil & gas lobbyists have met UK and Scottish ministers more than once a week since Labour took office MPs have asked questions in Parliament after meeting lobbyists, and more 🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-h...

The government is still pondering crippling the FOI act parliamentary questions suggest My latest blog at Relight My FOIA, on the government's refusal to put to bed speculation it still plans to kneecap the Freedom of Information Act in response to PQs relightmyfoia.blog/2026/04/17/g...

BREAKING: We’re taking the government to court over Palantir. The government is refusing to hand over important briefings given to Wes Streeting about the £330m NHS data contract with Peter Thiel’s surveillance firm So we’re taking legal action. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-w...

⚖️CFOI supports a proposed judicial review of the govt’s failure to publish environmental information proactively.” The action is being brought by @bwebster135.bsky.social, a former Environment Editor of The Times.” Support his crowdfunder below. www.crowdjustice.com/case/governm...

@alexparsons.bsky.social has been thinking about the increased demand on public systems created by #AI - not just #FOI but for all areas where the public interface with government. Here's a suggestion for an approach that can work for the public benefit: www.mysociety.org/2026/04/14/r...

How can we protect and expand FOI? @mysociety.org have written up the first workshop exploring what an FOI Network could do to help www.mysociety.org/2026/04/14/f... The second workshop, on how a Network could support journalists and specialist users, is... TOMORROW! Sign up: luma.com/y12euvs2

Round up by @juliacushion.bsky.social of the case against restricting FOI www.mysociety.org/2026/04/08/t...

Eleanor Shaikh discovered FOI when she saw how the Post Office Horizon software was affecting her own local sub Postmaster - if you watched 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office', you'll know what we're talking about. What Eleanor has achieved with FOI since then is nothing short of remarkable.

⚖️Court of Session overrules Scottish Information Commissioner in high-profile FOI dispute Commissioner criticised for “minimising” weight of legal professional privilege. www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/zzgbx5...

The ICO has just released its latest performance monitoring report, which confirms how FOI complaints have rapidly increased and its backlog has correspondingly got much worse - it's now taking over 6 months for non-priority cases to be allocated to a case officer

The Information Commissioner has issued another Enforcement Notice against the Met Police, due to the Met's persistently inadequate and unacceptably poor record on responding to FOI requests

What better time for an online workshop from the FOI Network on... How might an FOI Network encourage the protection and expansion of Freedom of Information in the UK? Join us online at midday on Wednesday 1 April to discuss luma.com/erlh5p2b

📣Two NHS Trusts subject to latest ICO enforcement action Regulator finds lack of resources did not excuse FOI failings ico.org.uk/media2/yjapy... ico.org.uk/media2/r4tdn...

A new Code of Practice relating to Freedom of Information was published yesterday. Read the Code here: www.gov.scot/publications... #freedomofinformation #accesstoinformation #politics #scotland #foi

Will the Scottish Government face another court case over FoI non-compliance? Read the Scottish Information Commissioner’s full statement at www.foi.scot/preposterous... #FoIReformNow #secretscotland #freedomofinformation #foi #accesstoinformation

Officials have been anonymously briefing about the threat of FOI laws to national security in the FT. I've written a blog on Relight My FOI as to why a crackdown on transparency using the vague excuse of China would be a bad move. relightmyfoia.blog/2026/03/18/p...

📣Row deepens over Sturgeon inquiry handling Latest criticism follows 'embarrassing' release of error-strewn James Hamilton files www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I've been digging through the first tranche of the Mandelson files so you don't have to. You can explore the key documents here 👇 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

@natejones.bsky.social & team found “jaw-dropping admissions” from federal agencies about how the FOIA process has broken down across the US government, after cuts to FOIA staff, confirming the dire concerns of folks like me raised in 2025. Gift link: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Maurice Frankel, CFOI Director, said: “This important legal challenge would increase pressure for government and public bodies to publish, not stifle, inconvenient environmental reports". Please follow the link below to show your support!

🎤Watch Maurice take part in a FOI Fest panel reflecting on 21 years of FOI, the impact of enforcement, and shifts in public authority culture. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg_S...

🎤See CFOI Director Maurice Frankel’s talk from the FOI Fest on the cost limit here. He shares insights on why asking for more information can sometimes mean getting none, and how a little research can go a long way. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI1U...

📣FOI and International Women's Day Metropolitan police mishandling of violence against women highlighted by recent Times FOI battle