The Silent State: Secrets, Surveillance and the Myth of British Democracy

(Paperback)

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Description

A modern classic of journalism and an iconic investigation of power in C21st Britain, by one of the country's leading reporters. Award-winning investigative journalist Heather Brooke exposes the shocking and farcical lack of transparency at all levels of government. At a time when the State knows more than ever about us, Brooke argues that without proper access to the information that citizens pay for, Britain can never be a true democracy. *SECRECY*- anonymous bureaucrats, clandestine courts, men in tights and the true cost of 'public' information. *PROPAGANDA*- spin, PR and bullshitting by numbers. The British government spent e38m more on advertising last year than their closest competitor, Proctor and Gamble - find out what they spent it on! *SURVEILLANCE*- discover the extent of Britain's network of databases spying on ordinary citizens, *EXPENSES*- read, for the first time, the exclusive and definitive account of Brooke's five-year campaign to have MPs' expenses revealed, which rocked the nation and transformed Britain's political landscape.

Reviews

You won't know whether to laugh or rise up and overthrow absolutely everything. * CHARLIE BROOKER *
She's a total ninja. * BEN GOLDACRE *
A wonderful book... Heather Brooke puts every other British journalist to shame. She has changed British public culture and earned an essential place in our national history. She is an extraordinary figure who must be celebrated. * PETER OBORNE *
Secrecy is one of the great British diseases. It's so secret that we don't even admit we suffer from it. Heather Brooke is part of the cure - challenging the routine concealment and distortion of important information. There should be more journalists doing the same. * NICK DAVIES *
'passionate, eloquent and persuasive...We need the likes of Heather Brooke to challenge, to take up grievances and to campaign.' * Peter Riddell,Times Book of the Week *

Author Bio

Heather Brooke is a freelance journalist and Freedom of Information campaigner famous for uncovering the MPs' expenses scandal. She is a visiting professor at City University's Department of Journalism and is also the author of Your Right to Know. In 2009 she was named Reformer of the Year and won the Setting the Political Agenda Award from the Political Studies Association.