#labour have so much to hide.

"You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide"


John Small - Telegraph comment
12/05/2010 10:35 AM

"It all comes down to trust in government. " The best way to restore trust is to be more open. "You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide" is the phrase so often used by authoritarian governments, e.g. New Labour.

Well now the tables are turned and governments are well and truly scared, obviously because they have a lot to hide.

We're living in a new world where information can flow freely. Governments have to adapt by being more honest and we have to adapt by applying more intelligent scrutiny of what they're up to in our name.

The hypothetical example is exactly that, hypothetical. More openness might make it harder for such delicate negotiations regarding single individuals, e.g. a release of prisoners, but it makes it impossible to develop elaborate plans to deceive the public such as Blair & Bush hatched in secret.

The Iraq war would not have happened if Blair & Bush had to come clean about their real intentions. Openness and honesty would have kept the US & UK away from a disaster.