UK Government spent over £1 Million on Litigation to hide Information from People
- Vineet Malik
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Vineet Malik | March 29, 2026 | India
An award-winning newsroom – “Democracy for Sale” made a startling revelation last week that exposed how the United Kingdom (UK) Government squandered tax payers' money on litigation to cover-up and hide vital information from people in 2024-2025
Despite, laws governed by the Freedom of Information (FOI) that works on the principles of Transparency, Right to Information by the Public, Democracy and Righteousness, the UK Government deliberately, willingly and knowingly stooped down to its lowest levels by spending colossal sum of money to bury the information that allegedly entailed the wrongdoings committed by different Government departments.
The amount splashed out by the UK Government mostly included exorbitant fees paid to battery of lawyers to defend the FOI cases in different courts with an intent to somehow resist divulging information to the FOI applicants and defeat the core principle of justice.
As per the Democracy For Sale report, £1 Million is a conservative estimate taken into account as there were Ministries who deliberately chose not to respond to escape from its accountability and to avoid spilling the beans.
The UK Government most brazenly covered-up below cited matters :
Infected Blood Scandal
Vulnerable Benefit Claimants
Journalists investigating Appointments to the House of Lords
Transparency International on this recent ugly development said “Spending over £1 Million belonging to the Public to block the Public’s Right to know is a deeply damaging decision. The FOI Act is not a bureaucratic inconvenience – it is vital to democratic accountability. The public interest would be far better served by the Government embracing the Freedom of Information Act than repeatedly frustrating it.”
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spent over £2,08,000 towards court cases.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spent £1,44,000 towards lawyers legal fees.
The Cabinet Office spent the highest amount to the tune of £3,18,000 towards lawyers legal fees.
Corruption in the UK has altogether reached a different level to somehow frustrate people seeking justice through the FOI Act.
CASE 1
In a matter where a son lost his father through blood transfusion infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C sought information on the proposed compensation scheme was compelled to file repeated appeals.
The DHSC to cover-up the wrongdoings committed by the National Health Service (NHS) deliberately withheld partial information with an intent to wriggle out from paying compensation to the bereaved son.
Later, the Information Tribunal rejected the Appeal however the DHSC by then had already spent more than £41,000 towards court cases.
CASE 2
Historian Andrew Lownie fought several FOI cases to research on his ground-breaking book – ‘Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’ said “I encountered ranks of expensive lawyers on challenging decisions of the Information Commissioners. My own legal fees along with a lawyer and solicitor was £500,000. I hate to think what the Cabinet Office must have spent. Of-course, they would not reveal.
Lownie’s fight lasted for a decade to seek information.
CASE 3
The Cabinet Office spent £15,000 on preventing Journalist Martin Rosebaum from accessing letters about the appointment of two peers by the former Prime Minister of the UK – Boris Johnson.
Rosebaum said “The information sought by me should have been publicly available as a public principle.”
CASE 4
The Ministry of Defence spent over £23,000 to block the release of blood tests to the family of a nuclear test veteran.
The Home Office fought the release of an individual report pertaining to the Windrush Scandal.
However, the Home Office was shamed later when the Tribunal Judge reversed the decision of the errant Home Office.
Furthermore, the Home Office was forced to publish a report after a long legal battle revealing how immigration laws and the "hostile environment" policy specifically affected Black British citizens.
The Home Office has been frequently accused of using aggressive legal tactics to delay or avoid releasing information through the FOI Act.
The Home Office embroiled in ongoing FOI Controversy
Campaigners seeking justice have allegedly categorised the massive profits of over £800 Million made in six years by the Home Office on citizenship applications from children as a "scandal" with fees far exceeding the actual processing cost.
In 2024 alone, 71 percent FOI requests seeking vital information was refused by different Government departments in the UK.
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