BOOK REVIEW: David Vincent.THE CULTURE OF SECRECY: BRITAIN, 1832-1998. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Abstract

Bliss was it in the dawn of New Labour in May 1997 to be a campaigner for more open government, but to read the ministry's White Paper seven months later was very heaven. In "Your Right to Know," Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had strenuously criticized the Conservative government's Restricted Access to Information Act of 1994, promised statutory openness for all public organizations. Henceforth the onus would be on officials to demonstrate that disclosure would be harmful rather than on applicants to argue the benefits of release.