Incomplete information and the right to know: Climategate's long tail

摘要

These are the latest in a series of freedom of information requests for disclosure of material from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU). These requests arose following the 'climategate'affair (November 2009) where hacked university emails suggested that individuals within CRU might have attempted to abuse the process of peer review to prevent publication of opposing research papers and evidence. Hence the sensitivity of the data to both requester and CRU, and the passions engendered on these appeals. Both cases turned on whether disclosure could be denied on the basis of the public interest exception to the default rule that information should be disclosed, in other words the chilling effect on sharing ideas and unpublished research, and the potential distortion of public debate by the disclosure of incomplete material.