Some 96 MPs voted to exempt themselves from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act last week – 78 Labour and 18 Tories.
There is still hope that the Lords will throw out the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, thus closing what could become a shameful loophole in the legislation.
The Mail on Sunday this week made much sport of the fact that the sponsor of the bill, David Maclean, had claimed a quad bike on Parliamentary expenses (albeit as a result of multiple sclerosis-related mobility problems).
Helpfully, they’ve also listed the names of every MP who backed the legislation. Far be it for Press Gazette to tell its readers how to do their jobs – but surely it is worth making good use of FoI to find out about their local MP’s expenses, before it’s too late.
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