After a ruling last month by the Information Tribunal that Cabinet meeting minutes leading up to the Iraq war be published, British Justice Secretary Jack Straw today vetoed that decision.

Mr. Straw is citing a clause in the Freedom of Information Act to substantiate the claim that their release would “seriously damage” government, outweighing the public interest: countering the Tribunal’s  argument that decisions contained therein were “momentous” and controversial. The ministerial veto is being used for the first time since the Freedom of Information Act was passed in 2000, the government choosing not to appeal through the High Court; Mr. Straw stated that he appreciated the gravity of the situation.

Although the Justice Secretary stated that “[t]here is a balance to be struck between openness and maintaining aspects of our structure of democratic government”, his shadow cabinet counterpart maintained that a full-scale inquiry was still vital, particularly at this time. This decision comes amid claims of a governmental “collapse” in the days preceding the Iraq war, and is being labeled by opposition MP’s as a cover-up to avoid embarrassment.

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas suggested that the use of the ministerial veto undermined the very purpose of the FOI laws, and that if the Cabinet had legal grounds for preventing the information’s release, they would have done so through the High Court.

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