Media update

Sunday Herald - BNFL paid union to back new nuclear power stations
"TRADE unionists have been given thousands of pounds by their government company bosses to campaign in favour of Tony Blair’s new nuclear power programme....Documents obtained by the Sunday Herald reveal that £15,050 was claimed in expenses from BNFL for “Nuklear21 union meetings” in 2005-06....Nuklear21’s expense claims were released to the Sunday Herald by BNFL in response to an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act. The company had initially claimed that it did not hold any information about the group’s funding"

BBC news - NHS report 'criticisms deleted'
"A report into the £6.8bn NHS IT upgrade had criticisms removed and toned down before publication, the BBC learns." Read the first draft of the report.

Daily Telegraph - Saudis handed £17m of free arms
"The Government agreed to hand over £17m-worth of arms to Saudi Arabia free of charge to avoid falling foul of anti-landmines rules, private ministerial papers reveal.The papers, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show the extent to which the Government has been willing to go to smooth the Saudi-British relationship."

The Guardian - Access denied to the laws that govern us
"Irving had hoped to create a free, user-friendly legal database to rival his previous successes. As such he filed Freedom of Information Act requests last year asking for the raw data held by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Instead of thanking Irving for his interest, the DCA denied his request."

Freelance UK - The logo that cost taxpayers £164,000
"The department commissioned freelance designers to the tune of £67,000 so they could come up with the new motif, according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act."

Regional news

Cambridge Evening News- Thieves leave boys in blue red-faced
"CHEEKY thieves have pinched thousands of pounds worth of police property from under officers' noses. Among the property stolen from police in Cambridgeshire over the last two years are a £2,000 alarm system, a £1,000 laptop computer, and crime-fighting kit such as handcuffs and a police baton....Details of the thefts have been released following a request by the News under the Freedom of Information Act, and according to force records there have been a total of 61 incidents since April 2004."