For well over a decade I’ve been submitting Freedom of Information requests about members of the Royal Family, and not once has the supposed public interest test come down on the side of disclosure.
I’ve been told files on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s time as a trade envoy, an official government appointment rather than a royal role, won’t see daylight until 2065. My battle over Lord Mountbatten’s diaries cost me half a million pounds in legal fees, and even then officials tried to redact the most innocuous references imaginable, including names already in the published edition.
That’s why Siân Berry’s proposed bill matters. It would remove the blanket exemption that puts the sovereign and the heirs to the throne entirely beyond the reach of the FoI Act, and would treat the Royal Household, the Royal Archive and the Duchies like any other public body. Publicly funded institutions should be open to scrutiny, and researchers should be able to access the records that tell the true story of our own history.
The bill has cross-party backing, from David Davis to Jeremy Corbyn, along with the NUJ, though without Government support its chances are slim, and ministers have already said they’re not considering changing the law.
All the more reason to talk about it and to write to your MP expressing support for what would be an important and crucial step to prevent a repeat of the many disgraces of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The protection that such secrecy affords is one reason why the former duke felt so comfortable behaving the way he did and the currect system provides an environment where royals can act with impunity in the knowledge that the public will never be any the wiser.
Had it not been for the release of the Epstein Files for example, we would never have the known the full extent of Andrew’s behaviour, but we shouldn’t have to rely on the actions of the US Congress to bring him to account and to enlighten the public about actions taken when he was working for the UK taxpayer.
Josiah Mortimer’s piece for Byline Times sets out the full picture, including my own experiences of a system built to protect the royal image at the expense of the historical record. Give it a read here.
MPs Bid to End ‘Royal Secrecy’ and Open the Crown Up to Scrutiny