Alastair Darling the Trade Secretary is reported by The Times (May 25 2007) to have sought restrictions on "vexatious" i.e nonsense claims under The Freedom of Information Act.
Examples cited have included:
- the sum spent on Ferrero Rocher chocolates by the Foreign Office;
- the cost of the PM's make-up and
- the number of sex acts perpetrated on Welsh sheep.
The Information Commissioner Richard Thomas who oversees the Act has said he will support public bodies that refuse information requests that are pointless or mischievous.
He supports the proposals to block vexatious requesters in the same way the High Court can bar vexatious claimants who sue the same persons repeatedly over trivial matters.
Mr Thomas is quoted as describing the Act as a "vigorous noisy and sometimes unwelcome toddler" and these comments and calls by Alastair Darling follow on from a Bill to exempt Parliament from the FoIA which is now expected to be passed by the House Of Lords.
