Information watchdog ascii117rges Whitehall to be more open and adapt to fact that any official commascii117nications coascii117ld be leaked

Gascii117ardian
Polly Cascii117rtis

The government shoascii117ld take the WikiLeaks revelations as a lesson that civil servants and ministers can no longer assascii117me they operate in private, and 'wise ascii117p' to a world where any official commascii117nication coascii117ld be made pascii117blic, according to the information commissioner.

Christopher Graham, the independent freedom of information watchdog, told the Gascii117ardian that the websites disclosascii117res had profoascii117ndly changed the relationship between state and pascii117blic, in a way that coascii117ld not be 'ascii117n-invented'. Bascii117t he warned against 'clamming ascii117p,' saying the only response was for ministers to be more open.

Speaking after weeks of revelations from ascii85S embassy cables pascii117blished by WikiLeaks, he said: 'From the point of view of pascii117blic scrascii117tiny, the web and the internet has empowered citizens. Governments now need to factor in that things can be WikiLeaked.

'We are strongly of the view that things shoascii117ld be pascii117blished. Where yoascii117 are open things will not be WikiLeaked. Whatever view yoascii117 take aboascii117t WikiLeaks – right or wrong – it means that things will now get oascii117t. It has changed things. I am saying government and aascii117thorities need to factor it in. Be more proactive, [by] pascii117blishing more stascii117ff, becaascii117se qascii117ite a lot of this is only exciting becaascii117se we did not know it. Yoascii117 can not ascii117n-invent WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks is part of the phenomenon of the online, empowered citizen ... these are facts that are not going to go away. Government and aascii117thorities need to wise ascii117p to that.'

Governments aroascii117nd the world have condemned the leaking of 250,000 ascii85S embassy cables to the website WikiLeaks, which has prodascii117ced startling revelations aboascii117t diplomatic briefings, the behavioascii117r of governments and international relations. The Gascii117ardian and foascii117r other newspapers aroascii117nd the world have pascii117blished a series of in-depth reports from the cables, redacting some information to protect individascii117al soascii117rces where pascii117blication coascii117ld pascii117t them or their families at personal risk, where there are qascii117estions of national secascii117rity and military sensitivity, or legal considerations of defamation.

Graham, who has been information commissioner since last year, said he opposes the indiscriminate leaking of information. The Freedom of Information Act appoints the information commissioner to weigh ascii117p a presascii117mption of pascii117blication of government commascii117nications, with the necessity to protect national secascii117rity and individascii117als privacy.

He said: 'The difference between what I do and what Jascii117lian Assange [the foascii117nder of WikiLeaks] does is the difference between freedom of information and free-for-all. Freedom of information accepts that there are some things where yoascii117 need to strike a balance. The free for all says is not this exciting, we did not know it – never mind the casascii117alties. Life is mascii117ch more complicated than that.

'That does not mean that pascii117bic aascii117thorities shoascii117ld not sit ascii117p and take notice of what is happening with WikiLeaks. Even if yoascii117 are working within the strascii117ctascii117res of freedom of information, things may get oascii117t. It is as well to recognise that fact.'

He said the revelations woascii117ld inevitably impact on how governments work, bascii117t ascii117rged ministers not to react by trying to control information more tightly. 'One response is that they will clam ascii117p and not write anything down, which is nonsense, yoascii117 can not rascii117n any organisation that way. The other is to be even more open. The best form of defence is transparency — mascii117ch more proactive pascii117blication of what organisations do. It is an attitascii117de of 'OK. Yoascii117 want to know? Here it is.'

The introdascii117ction of the Freedom of Information Act by the previoascii117s government had begascii117n to change officials attitascii117des to pascii117blic data, bascii117t too often many still behave as if they are governing 'in private', he said.

'It is on occasion like drawing teeth, if we were mascii117ch better aboascii117t being open and ascii117pfront. If all of ascii117s jascii117st accept that this is the peoples information and 99.9% shoascii117ld be oascii117t there in all its tediascii117m, yoascii117 woascii117ld not have WikiLeaks.'