Richard Scott, the judge who through his inquiry into the arms-to-Iraq affair a few years ago put freedom of information high on the public agenda, rightly observes in a Foreword that, although written as a practitioners' book, "the commendably simple, clear language of the text will make its exposition of the law as accessible to non-lawyers as to lawyers". This is a book which no serious practitioner can do without. ... Much has been written about the FOI Act, but this is, beyond doubt, the most authoritative analytical work on the subject.