Media roundup

Daily Telegraph March 7th -Britain begged America for food surplus to build nuclear war stockpile
"Britain begged up to two million tons of surplus American food to stave off the prospect of starvation in case of nuclear war, top secret archive papers released under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed."

The Herald 6th March - How soap industry put heat on watchdog
"However, the majority of farms around the loch are used for raising livestock, with a far lower use of fertiliser. Sepa, however, chose not to debate the issue. The papers released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal how it instead chose to bow to the pressure"

The Sunday Times 6th March - Britain's biggest private landowner nets £1m in EU handouts
"The subsidies paid to Britain’s farmers have traditionally been kept secret, but The Sunday Times has made an application to the government for the amounts to be revealed under the new Freedom of Information Act. The government is due to rule on the application later this month, but some landowners are already disclosing the information."

North West Evening mail 5th March - MRSA up by 15%
"SUPERBUG cases at Furness General Hospital rose over the past year. An Evening Mail request under the Freedom of Information Act revealed a 15 per cent overall increase in cases of MRSA between 2003 and 2004."

Belfast Telegraph 4th March - MP's call on TV licence evaders
"A DUP MP has turned to the Freedom of Information Act in a bid to find out which parts of Northern Ireland harbour the most TV licence evaders"

Hamstead and Highgate Express 4th March - Camden infringed on my right to free data
"PARKING chiefs at Camden have charged £700 to supply data under the Freedom of Information Act... even though some of the facts are freely available on the Internet. Simon Aldridge, 37, who owns recycling business Pulp Faction, sent Camden 15 questions asking for information about parking fines issued in the borough..... But Mr Aldridge, who lives in Crouch End, then found the answers to one of the questions on the website of the Association of London Government (ALG)."