Green MP pushing for Royal Family to face Freedom of Information laws under new Bill

A Green MP is trying to subject the Royal Family to freedom of information laws for the first time.

Sian Berry, MP for Brighton Pavilion, has announced plans to amend the 26-year-old legislation that currently grants the public access to records held by Whitehall departments and local authorities but explicitly excludes the monarchy.

Ms Berry said that opening royal documents and data to public scrutiny would "be a huge step for transparency in what has been a shadowy institution for far too long".

Her proposed Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill aims to bring greater accountability to the Crown.

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Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, neither the sovereign nor the Royal Household qualifies as a public authority subject to disclosure requirements.

Section 37 of the legislation specifically shields communications with the monarch and their heirs from public access.

Government bodies are also permitted to withhold any correspondence they have exchanged with the King and his wider office.

The Act contains various other exemptions designed to protect sensitive matters, including special forces operations, MPs' home addresses, and information that might damage relations with foreign governments.

Ministerial policy advice and material touching on national security are similarly protected from disclosure under the existing framework.

The push for greater royal transparency comes amid mounting pressure on ministers to release documents concerning the monarchy.

It was revealed over the weekend that the King will disclose his personal tax payments for the first time.

And, earlier this year, MPs voted to demand publication of papers relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's 2001 appointment as a special representative for trade and investment.

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The resulting 31-page dossier disclosed that officials had sought to prevent the former Duke of York from being offered "golfing functions" abroad and revealed his preference for "ballet rather than the theatre".

Andrew was taken into custody in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, questioned under caution, and subsequently released while investigations continue. He strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Ms Berry described the existing royal exemption as "outrageous", declaring: "This unnecessarily shields what should be a perfectly normally accountable part of our constitution, and it has to go."

Her draft legislation would extend FOI coverage to the Royal Archive, a repository of documents spanning more than two and a half centuries housed in Windsor Castle's Round Tower.

The duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster would also fall within the Bill's scope.

Ms Berry emphasised her proposal targets the monarchy's use of public assets rather than private matters, focusing on "things that are part of the job, not part of their own private lives".

The Government is not thought to be supporting the initiative.

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