How the BBC got those documents
BBC NEWS | The Editors | Freedom of Information
Some bloggers have queried how Newsnight had key documents on John Prescott (watch here), obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, at such an appropriate time. The BBC's Open Secrets blog has an intriguing explanation...
For instance :The Devil's Kitchen
I would say that we are pushing it considerably faster than the MSM, frankly. And as Unity implies, it doesn't seem to be because the BBC didn't have the materials to hand; not only did they probably have them to hand, but they have failed to make a vital connection.
And here is the intriguing answer:
BBC NEWS | Open Secrets | How journalism works 2
Last night's Newsnight revealed the keen interest of officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the idea of a casino on the site of the Dome, a new twist to the latest John Prescott tale.
This revelation stemmed from documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. So was this a speedily made and answered FOI request from Newsnight? No; actuallly the documents had been sitting for months on the website of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
It was Newsnight's political reporter David Grossman who recalled that DCMS had made FOI disclosures about the Dome in the past and had the bright idea of looking through them to see if they would shed new light on the role of Prescott and his officials.
He found this.
