Liberal Democrats split as peers back Freedom of Information Bill

The Liberal Democrat leadership faced a split last night among its own benches over a decision by peers to support the controversial freedom of information legislation.

The Liberal Democrat leadership faced a split last night among its own benches over a decision by peers to support the controversial freedom of information legislation.

The party's MPs expressed frustration over a deal by the party's frontbench in the House of Lords to accept the Freedom of Information Bill after the Government offered four concessions to strengthen public access to information.

Lord Goodhart and Lord McNally, both senior figures in the party, announced their support for the Bill last Friday but the Liberal Democrat peers have since come under attack for caving in to pressure.

Simon Hughes, the party's home affairs spokesman, and Robert Maclennan, the constitutional spokesman, insisted yesterday that the party was still negotiating with Mike O'Brien, the Home Office minister responsible for the legislation, and would meet before the Bill returned to the Commons.

But it would be very difficult for the front bench to water down its support for the measure after giving outright commitment to let it reach the statute book last week.

"I guess Lord Goodhart did what he thought would be best and he got the deal with the knowledge of the Commons team," one disgruntled Liberal Democrat MP said.

"But there is a general feeling among us in the Commons that more could have been achieved."

The party's MPs believe that the Home Office could have been forced to offer further concessions if there had been another Labour backbench rebellion in the Commons.

Last time the Bill was debated, more than 30 Labour MPs, including Dr Tony Wright, the chairman of the Public Administration Committee, voted against the Government.

A war of word also broke out in the House of Lords where Conservative deputy leader Lord MacKay of Ardbrecknish accused Liberal Democrats of an "utterly craven sell-out.

"It is less open on the release of information than the Code of Practice introduced by John Major," Lord MacKay said. "We had hoped that we might be able to force the Government to rewrite and improve it.

"But astonishingly, the Liberal Democrat party in the Lords has reached a pact with the Government to wave through the Bill," he added.

"We do not know what the Government has promised them. All that we do know is that the Liberal Democrats have given the Government almost everything they wanted on almost every key point in the Bill - an utterly craven sell-out to Jack Straw and the Home Office."