The Culture of Secrecy, Britain 1832-1998

Unnecessary secrecy in government leads to arrogance in governance and defective decision-making.' So states the first clause of the 1997 White Paper outlining the British Government's proposal for a Freedom of Information Act. This deliberate blow against Britain's legendary culture of secrecy may become one of New Labour's most important legislative achievements. David Vincent's thorough and scholarly study of attempts to block official information over the last 150 years provides a valuable overview of what might finally be consigned to the dustbin of history.

He begins in 1844, when Mazzini, living in exile in London, sent himself letters containing poppy seeds and grains of sand in order to discover whether his correspondence was being secretly opened. The revelation that it was provoked a furious attack on the government in the House of Commons by the radical MP Thomas Duncombe, who protested at the introduction of 'the spy system of foreign states'. But what provoked even greater anger was the response of the Home Secretary, Sir James Graham, who refused to confirm or deny the practice.