Conviction politicians
Where does the public interest lie?
It is not in the public interest for the government to say whether ministers have criminal records, a tribunal has decided. There is a legitimate public interest in scrutiny of systems intended to ensure their suitability for office, the tribunal accepted, but that was outweighed by the public interest in avoiding unlawful data processing and the preservation of candour within the ministerial appointments process.
Like all cases involving information rights, the tribunal ruling — first reported in yesterday’s Times — looks jolly complicated. This is my attempt to simplify its reasoning.
