Secrecy laws 'don't harm the work of ministers', says information commissioner The information commissioner's comments were an attack on former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell, above. Sir Christopher Graham, the information commissioner, has hit out against the "distinguished Whitehall insiders" who have called for the repeal of the freedom of information laws currently under review by parliament. In a thinly veiled attack on former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell, who has urged a change in the law to protect the secrecy of cabinet meetings, Graham said the arguments of many critics were "nonsense." He also warned that scaremongering about the power of freedom of information (FOI) requests to release details of confidential policy discussions risked encouraging people "to cut corners." Graham has recently urged the education secretary, Michael Gove, to discourage his civil servants from using private email accounts to carry out government business, following reports that the method was being used to circumvent freedom of information requests. Just days before the first session of a Commons review of the laws, Graham writes that there are already protections to ensure that good governance is not damaged by the Freedom of Information Act. He writes: "On FOI, a chorus of distinguished Whitehall insiders would have us believe, against all the evidence, that the act threatens good government because nobody dares to write anything down any more. But it's nonsense to say that FOIA threatens to make public what really ought to remain secret for 30 years (shortly to be 20 years). On his retirement from the civil service in December, O'Donnell argued that the freedom of information laws should be amended so cabinet ministers could have "real discussions" without worrying that arguments would be made public. Government critics of the freedom of information laws have also highlighted the information commissioner's decision that the "risk register" over the impact of the controversial NHS reforms should be released as an example of policy-making being affected by the act. But Graham, who will be giving evidence at the tribunal adjudicating over a government appeal on the release of the risk register in March, says in the most extreme cases ministers have the last say because the cabinet has the power of veto. The justice select committee, chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith, is examining the value of the Freedom of Information Act, which was introduced 12 years ago, and will start listening to evidence on Tuesday. Tony Blair, who was prime minister when the act came into law, has spoken of his regret at its introduction. He said: "For political leaders, it's like saying to someone who is hitting you over the head with a stick, 'Hey, try this instead', and handing them a mallet." Some critics have suggested charging people who make FOI requests, amid concerns that it has merely become a tool for journalists seeking stories and private companies looking for commercially valuable information. However, campaigners for greater transparency believe that, if anything, it should be easier to obtain information. There is a growing body of support for the release of the health and social care bill risk register. The tribunal into the information commissioner's ruling on the register will take place on 5 March. A witness statement of John Healey MP, the former shadow health secretary, who made the FOI request for the register in 2010, states that there is a precedent for release of risk registers, that it is a management tool not part of policymaking, and that the failure to produce it would be a failing of open government over a crucial issue, namely the future of the NHS. In the 10-page document, seen by the Observer, Healey writes: "Given the exceptional level of concern about the consequences of the government's NHS reforms for service standards, patient safety and financial control, there is an exceptional public interest case for disclosure of the transition risk register and an important contribution to public reassurance by doing so."