Peter Geoghegan and the openDemocracy team
Sometimes it seems impossible to hold Boris Johnson’s government to account.
But this week, we pulled off something pretty unusual. After our journalism exposed a secretive government unit [see links below] accused of ‘blacklisting’ journalists and blocking ‘sensitive’ Freedom of Information requests, we got all the major UK newspapers to join us in a public demand to save our information rights.
These rival Fleet Street editors – Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Mail and more – almost never speak with one voice. So when they do, the government has to listen.
Already, it’s working. Tory MPs are demanding answers from Michael Gove and calling for an “urgent” investigation into our findings. And MPs on two powerful parliamentary committees have vowed to pursue the issues we’ve uncovered with Cabinet ministers.
We’re not going to let up now. We’re chasing down fresh leads and gearing up for a court case to protect our Freedom of Information rights.
But we can’t do it without you. Will you pledge a regular donation, so we can keep going at this vital moment?
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