Tony Blair criticised for failure to cooperate with Freedom of Information investigation

Tony Blair faces scathing criticism today for his failure to cooperate with MPs investigating the impact of the Freedom of Information Act.

The former Prime Minister has described the Act as one of the greatest mistakes of his time in office. But he did not reply to requests from the Commons Justice Select Committee to give evidence to it.

Sir Alan Beith, its chairman, said: "We deplore Mr Blair's failure to cooperate… despite being given every opportunity to attend at a time convenient to him."

The committee dismissed Mr Blair's written evidence, concluding that the Act was work-ing well.