The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is going to a tribunal to force Thurrock council to release key details of how it has invested huge sums of taxpayers’ money.

Earlier this year the Bureau revealed Thurrock council in Essex had borrowed £1bn from other local authorities and then invested hundreds of millions in a complex and potentially risky series of bonds connected to solar farms. The council refused to disclose under the Freedom of Information Act who it borrowed from and what it invested in.

The amount of money involved, the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the deals, and the potential risks to public services should the investments turn sour seem to us to be strong public interest arguments in favour of releasing the information. Currently, taxpayers are in the dark about how their money is being spent and the risks involved. If this is not rectified, it could set a precedent which would let other authorities hide similar information at a time when government cuts have forced councils to turn to riskier sources of income.

Join the fight for transparency! The Times, Reach, Archant, Local Government Chronicle, the Municipal Journal and Index on Censorship have already backed our appeal.

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