THE Cabinet Office spent almost £40,000 to protect a secretive unit accused of blocking information being released to journalists.
The Clearing House unit was revealed to have suppressed sensitive information about the Grenfell Tower tragedy and contaminated blood scandal being released through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
The unit is understood to be part of the Cabinet Office which was run by Michael Gove at the time it was revealed and sits at the heart of the UK Government. It has been described as "Orwellian" and is also accused of blacklisting journalists.
The openDemocracy website raised the issue of the Clearing House through an information tribunal in 2020 and revealed on Wednesday that the Cabinet Office spent £38,723.16 and months fighting to prevent the disclosure of information about the unit.
The average annual earnings for full-time employees in the UK was £31,285 in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.
READ MORE: Scottish Government spends £594m on mitigating 'vindictive and immoral' Tory policies
The media organisation won the case in April 2021 and an inquiry into the operations of the Clearing House was launched by Westminster's Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
However, last week it was revealed that no-one has yet been appointed to lead the review announced five months ago.
Tommy Sheppard, the SNP MP for Edinburgh East, has been engaged in a long-running legal challenge with the Cabinet Office over secret polling on the Union that was carried out by the department and has not been released despite FOI requests.
READ MORE: Cabinet Office heading to court in battle over Tories' secret Union polling
Sheppard told openDemocracy: “This is further evidence, if any were needed, that not only is the Cabinet Office determined to keep the public in the dark, but it is charging them to maintain this veil of secrecy.”
The existence of the Clearing House unit was revealed in 2020 by openDemocracy that detailed how it suppresses information requested through FOIs and puts together "blacklists" of journalists.
The unit was described as "Orwellian" by the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel