The Silent State

Book excerpt: 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 £38m 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.