Freedom of information is the last thing these manipulators want

NOBODY should be surprised that the Government is contemplating a revision of the Freedom of Information Act because information obtained under the Act has already exposed this Government as lying and manipulative.

Since an informed electorate is an indispensable requirement of democracy, any attempt to impede the flow of information to the electorate should be viewed as an attack on the republic itself.

Only this week we had an example of the danger of secrecy at the Bloody Sunday inquiry, when one of the British soldiers admitted that he signed a false statement claiming not only that a nail bomb had been thrown at them but also that they had come under fire before they began shooting on that fateful day in January 1972.