Your Right to Know A Citizen's Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. Foreword by Ian Hislop

A popular guide to the Freedom of Information Act, now updated in a new edition --

Have you ever wanted to force open the secretive doors of government? This book provides all the tools you need. With a new foreword by Ian Hislop, it's also fully updated to include...

-- New chapters on Scotland and the law in practice

-- Tips for digging out information and new template letters

-- An expanded and updated directory

-- Examples of case law that you can use in your quest for answers

-- An expanded Business chapter to help you get contracts, tenders and performance evaluations

"Information is born free, but everywhere is in chains. Heather Brooke has written the Information Liberation Front guide to end the politicians' enslavement of the facts which belong to the public. Bravo."

Greg Palast, author The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

"Even with my knowledge of Britain's secretive and undemocratic system of government, I found this book to be an eye opener. I will certainly be using the book myself to access public records about my case which until now have remained secret."

David Shayler, former MI5 officer

"Heather Brooke pulls no punches when it comes to exposing how the government, public institutions and private companies all keep the British public in the dark. Even better, she tells readers how they can successfully challenge the system using the latest public access laws." Michael Crick, BBC journalist

"Labour had been promising freedom of information for decades. Now we are getting it we need to keep the pressure on, and this is just the book to do that. All journalists should pick up these tricks."

Jeremy Dear, General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists

"Both revealing and practical, Your Right to Know is a necessary antidote to the British culture of secrecy."

David Banisar, Deputy Director of Privacy International

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Heather Brooke is a campaigner for open government and a freelance writer with articles published in The Times, The Sunday Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Evening Standard, New Statesman, BBC History and Journalist magazines. She was a runner-up for the inaugural Paul Foot award for investigative journalism. She has been interviewed on Sky news, The Politics Show on BBC One, BBC Radio 4 (The Message, You & Yours, The World Tonight), BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio Two's Jeremy Vine show.

Heather currently teaches the 'FOIA and investigative journalism' course for the National Union of Journalists. She has trained journalists at the Guardian, Financial Times, Independent, Trinity Mirror newspapers, BBC News and BBC World Service.

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Foreword by Ian Hislop

Introduction

Chapter 1 - FOI in practice

Chapter 2 - Scotland

Chapter 3 - Laws of Access

Chapter 4 - Central Government

Chapter 5 - Intelligence, Security and Defence

Chapter 6 - Transport

Chapter 7 - The Justice System

Chapter 8 - Law Enforcement and Civil Defence

Chapter 9 - Health

Chapter 10 - The Environment

Chapter 11 - Local Government

Chapter 12 - Education

Chapter 13 - Private Companies

Chapter 14 - Information about Individuals

Conclusion

Appendix - Letters for requesting information