Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill

That is a cogent point, which we tackled in the Standing Committee that considered the original measure. Some of us argued that there should be a more objective test of the exempt material. However, Ministers told us that it had to be subjective and at the discretion of the public authority and, subsequently, of the Information Commissioner. That is why the Under-Secretary’s response to the amendments is so perplexing because she turned that argument on its head and said that the position that I described is no longer the Government’s. She said that they no longer expect that extent of subjectivity, which was prayed in aid by the Solicitor-General, who was then Minister of State at the Home Office, and Mr. David Lock, who was then Solicitor-General.