RELEASING official papers about the Queen lobbying Scottish ministers over law changes is not in the public interest, civil servants have ruled.
Doing so could undermine her "political neutrality", it is claimed.
Communications between Her Majesty and Holyrood can be exempted from Freedom of Information laws in order to protect "good relations between the Scottish Government and the Royal Household", their "free exchange of information", and the "channel of communication between the Scottish Government and the Royal Household".
And according to the response to one Freedom of Information query, this covers the release of private letters from the Queen's Scots lawyer on why she sought changes to a bill on green energy earlier this year.
Yesterday the Guardian newspaper revealed that her legal team had successfully lobbied Holyrood leaders to amend a draft law to keep her private land out of a new push to slash carbon emissions.
That shift makes the Queen, who is one of Scotland's largest landowners, the only person who doesn't need to allow the construction of pipelines to heat buildings using renewable energy under the terms of the Heat Networks Scotland Bill.
That was revealed in information released to LibDem researcher Lily Humphreys. But the Scottish Government says it won't release other related papers showing how this happened.
Crown consent is required for the passing of some laws under the terms of the Scotland Act and, in a response posted on the Scottish Government's website, a senior official said the relationship between Holyrood and the Palace had to be protected.
The rule means laws that might affect the Queen's duties, property and business interest must be approved by her before MSPs can pass them.
The response says: "There can be no public interest in the disclosure of information which will damage that relationship and disrupt future communications.
"Additionally, there is a strong public interest in maintaining the longstanding constitutional convention that correspondence between the sovereign and her government is confidential in nature. This convention is an adjunct of the right of the sovereign to be consulted by her government, and to advise, encourage and to warn as the circumstances require.
"If the content of these consultations became known, it might serve to undermine the appearance of the political neutrality of the sovereign, and so the rights of the sovereign could not be exercised effectively without this expectation of confidentiality."
READ MORE: Richard Murphy: The Queen's lobbying reveals a deep constitutional issue
The news comes after the paper revealed how the Queen has vetted around 70 pieces of Scottish legislation since the onset of devolution.
Humphreys is to appeal this refusal and former Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie said: "The SNP’s obstructive approach to freedom of information law is a barrier to progress once again. We still don’t have the full detail of how the Scottish Government were pressured into changing the law."
At the time of the Bill change, Paul Wheelhouse, who was then the relevant minister, said opposition parties were informed that the legislation was being altered to prevent Balmoral being subject to compulsory purchase.
In an article for the Guardian, former MSP Andy Wightman called for change, saying the Scottish Parliament can "amend its procedures to require far greater transparency from ministers about which bills require it when and under what conditions it has been granted, and complete candour about which parts of any bill or any subsequent amendments are being lodged at the request of the Queen".
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