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19 May 2011 / Tom Morrison
Issue: 7466 / Categories: Features , Data protection , Freedom of Information
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Private eye

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Tom Morrison kicks off his quarterly review of the world of information law

We are all interested in what happens to our own information—how it is used, to whom it is given and how it is kept secure—and we want to know more about how well public authorities are being run. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair may regret it now, but when he came good on New Labour’s manifesto commitment to put the Freedom of Information Act on the statute books he set in train a series of events that would change the expectations of ordinary Joe Public forever. There is no turning back: data protection and freedom of information are here to stay. It will never be a vote-winner for any mainstream political party to pledge to reduce the protection afforded to individuals’ personal information, nor will it be popular to campaign on a promise to remove the rights of citizens to access information about how money is being spent in their name.

The regulatory noose has been tightening for some time to

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

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Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

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Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
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Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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