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Two public bodies referred to police over FOI cover ups

Scottish Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry has revealed the allegations in his annual report for 2018-19

POLICE in Scotland have received two allegations that public records were concealed or destroyed to thwart freedom of information (FOI) requests.

The allegations were revealed by Scottish Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry in his annual report for 2018-19.

It is not known which public bodies or officials are named in the allegations. 

“Once an information request has been made, it is a criminal offence for a public authority to alter, erase, destroy [or] conceal a record with the intention of preventing the information being disclosed,” noted Mr Fitzhenry.

“We received four allegations that information had been intentionally destroyed or concealed.

“Two of these were referred to Police Scotland for investigation.”

His report also reveals an 8 per cent rise in the number of FOI requests made in Scotland last year, taking it to the all-time high of 83,963. 

However, there were also  increases in the number of bodies failing to respond and in the number of appeals made and upheld. 

Nik Williams of Scottish PEN, which campaigns for journalistic freedom, said robust FOI laws “empower civil accountability and improve free expression.

“We join calls for the laws to be respected and reformed to ensure authorities remain answerable to the public,” he said.

Commenting on the report, journalist and campaigner James McEnaney, whose FOI investigations into the Scottish education system are published by investigative journalism platform The Ferret, told the Star that the commissioner’s findings were “no surprise.”

He said: “There is still a long way to go before the public can realise their right to know how power is being exercised. 

“Until there are genuine consequences for unacceptable behaviour, I fear real progress is still a long way off.”

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