A former environment editor of The Times has launched a legal claim against the Government for withholding documents that he claims should be publicly accessible.
Ben Webster has alleged that the Government is not carrying out its duty to proactively publish environmental information as stipulated by Regulation 4 of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR).
Webster, now working as a freelance, spent two years trying to access reports that he claims should have been published proactively.
He first requested the reports, which relate to the subject of future availability and cost of hydrogen for heating homes, from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in August 2023.
Webster said he required the reports as part of an investigation into the viability of hydrogen to heat homes and whether this is a false solution being promoted by the gas industry.
The DESNZ initially refused to release all four reports, claiming they were part of an ongoing decision-making process, but has now released three of them.
The DESNZ is appealing a First Tier Tribunal ruling that ordered it to release the fourth report.
Webster is launching a judicial review aiming to get the High Court to declare that the DESNZ is mistaken on its narrow view of the scope of regulation 4 of the EIR and, as a result, is unlawfully failing to carry out its duty to proactively share information.
When Webster contacted the DESNZ in December about its lack of compliance, the Government body’s response allegedly admitted that it did not refer to or discuss this duty over the previous two years. It interpreted the duty as applying only to policies already in the public domain, not those still in development.
Webster said: “This legal challenge will force the government to adopt an active publication policy on vital environmental issues. Armed with that information, the public could then put more pressure on ministers to act.
“If Government departments published more information proactively, they would need to spend less time, and money, responding to Freedom of Information requests.”
Webster is crowdfunding to cover his legal costs and has raised more than £5,500 at the time of writing. The fundraising page stated he needed £5,000 to cover the filing of the judicial review claim.
A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the importance of transparency in building public trust and consensus for our environmental, clean power and net zero goals.
“We proactively publish more information than ever before, amounting to thousands of documents each year.”
They added they were unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
Webster also claimed he has seen similar issues relating to the release of information from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
His campaign is being endorsed by Campaign for Freedom of Information.
Maurice Frankel, director of the group, said: “This important legal challenge would increase pressure for Government and public bodies to publish, not stifle, inconvenient environmental reports.
“It would make it harder for them to conceal material which suggests that policies are not working, adding to the pressure for significant findings to be published and acted on.”
Webster is represented by Leigh Day environment team solicitors Julia Eriksen and Lily Hartley-Matthews.
Eriksen said Webster’s investigation into the use of hydrogen for homes is “a topic of undoubted relevance and importance”.
“Upon receiving and reviewing the reports, Mr Webster felt it was apparent that the information should have been published proactively under duties laid out in the Environmental Information Regulations,” she said.
“He hopes that the High Court will agree with his assessment that the DESNZ’s interpretation of these requirements to share environmental information is too narrow.”
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