Heather Brooke is a journalist and writer living in London. She is the author of ‘Your Right to Know’, a citizens’ guide to using the Freedom of Information Act and accessing official information.
Heather’s campaigning for the public’s right to know made the headlines when she won a High Court case against the House of Commons in May 2008 for the full disclosure of MPs’ second homes allowances.
That ruling led to the preparation for publication of all MPs’ expenses data (Heather’s original request way back in 2004). It was this information which was suppressed twice and finally leaked to the Daily Telegraph in May 2009. The resulting disclosures led to a full-scale reform of the Parliamentary expense system.
Before moving to Britain, she worked in the United States as a newspaper reporter covering state government and criminal justice. Her investigations using state FOI law uncovered politicians’ misuse of public funds, exposed flaws in forensic crime lab and dangerous practices in funeral homes.
Heather was runner-up for the inaugural Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism and received from the Political Studies Association the award for Setting the Political Agenda.
She is an honorary professor at City University’s Department of Journalism teaching students about the Freedom of Information Act and how to analyse electronic data. She currently teaches the FOIA and investigative journalism course for the National Union of Journalists.
Her next book ‘The Silent State’ – how secrecy, misinformation and propaganda are destroying democracy – will be published by Heinemann in Spring 2010.
Visit the Your Right to Know website
At the 2009 summer school, Heather gave a talk about how she used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover the MPs’ Expenses story.
At the 2008 summer school, Heather gave a talk, with David Gordon about how they used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover the MPs’ expenses story (audio only).