Politicians ‘try to keep people in the dark’

Politicians deliberately withhold information from the public by obstructing the work of journalists, the Leveson Inquiry was told yesterday.

John Kampfner, chief executive of Index on Censorship, which champions freedom of expression, said there was “a determination” in the corridors of power to keep ordinary people in the dark.

The former journalist said there was a “very secretive Whitehall mindset”.

He said: “There’s a suspicion, invariably, of information and …there’s a determination to keep as much information out of the public domain as possible.”

He said parliament had “rolled over” on the issue of superinjunctions, but it did not do enough for freedom of expression.