A letter to Gordon Brown: release royal papers

This letter is a response to a previous post about suggestions that Prime Minister Gordon Brown may veto the release of correspondence between the royal household and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport concerning the maintenance of certain royal palaces.

29th December 2009

Dear Prime Minister,

The Information Commissioner has recently ruled that a collection of papers requested by the Independent newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act should be placed in the public domain.  These papers, comprising more than one hundred items of correspondence, contain information about the use of public money for the maintenance of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Holyrood House and other Royal buildings.

However, you have suggested that you may invoke rarely used legislative powers to veto this Freedom of Information request and prevent the documents from being released.

By acceding to the Information Commissioner’s ruling you have it within your power to open up a new era of public accountability and openness in relations between the monarch and government that would be widely welcomed by the public.

But if you choose to apply your veto you will be maintaining a culture of institutionalized secrecy that surrounds the activities of the Royal Household and that denies British taxpayers the right to see how their money is being spent.

It is a fundamental principle of democracy that public interest must always be paramount. The Information Commissioner’s ruling has determined that releasing these documents is very much in the public interest.

So I urge you to reconsider using your power of veto in this matter and I strongly encourage you to allow the disclosure of these documents to go ahead.  In so doing, you will demonstrate your government’s continuing commitment to transparency and to opening up the workings of parliament to greater public scrutiny.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Steve Smedley

Blaxhall, Woodbridge

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