I do not for one moment doubt that the present freedom of information legislation has shortcomings which should be addressed. I am a great believer in looking back at legislation and readdressing it. However, that should take place after careful consideration and consultation. It is one thing to fine-tune a critical part of our democratic heritage, it is another to seek to undermine its very effectiveness and make it a dead letter. The forces behind this change are no friends of democracy or the people. They are not believers in open government. They are, I suggest, its enemy. They have been biding their time since the Act was passed in 1997, waiting for the moment to strike. I ask whether the Government really knows what it is doing in acquiescing in this rush to spancel our freedom and the freedom of information regime we established only five or six years ago.