Three of the UK MPs calling for freedom of information legislation in the British Overseas Territories have spoken out about why Bermuda would benefit from such a law.

John Horam, Malcolm Moss and Andrew Mackinlay visited the Island in March as part of a review by Britain's Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) into the UK Government's handling of the 14 territories. They told The Royal Gazette that people here told them they wanted to see more openness from the Island's leaders and to have the right to obtain information affecting their lives.

Conservative MP Mr. Moss said: "There were people who said that there was an element of secrecy about the way that Government had worked and continues to work, which meant that when accusations went flying around there were sufficiently fertile conditions for rumour and innuendo to feed on."

His party colleague Mr. Horam said transparency was raised as a concern by a number of people who spoke to the MPs.

"We were surprised that parliamentary committees were held in camera and that the public weren't allowed in, for example," he said. "We felt that more information dispersed would help to better government, basically. Holding meetings in secret was really not helping the process."

One of the key recommendation in the FAC's report, published earlier this month, was that all the territories introduce a freedom of information or public access to information (PATI) law. And Bermuda is singled out in the 171-page document as needing to strengthen its transparency measures and stop holding parliamentary committee meetings in secret.

This newspaper's A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign has been calling for a PATI law and for publicly funded bodies to be more open since January. Mr. Moss said being more transparent could only benefit a government.

"If it's not completely open and above board, if accusations are made and not refuted, then these things have a life of their own and they get completely out of context.

"The more open you are the less likely you are to have false rumours starting and gaining ground."

He said an FOI law would help "get democracy working in the right way and in a positive way for the benefit of the whole community".

Labour MP Mr. MacKinlay said: "On freedom of information we simply think it is good practice there should be more or less United Kingdom norms translated and transferred into overseas territories.

"There should be freedom of information and, for that matter, data protection, which is the other side of the coin and protects your personal details. It's democratic standards."

He described the UK's Freedom of Information Act 2000 as "painful". "There are 600 members of parliament feeling the pain. But it should happen. We are coaxing and encouraging."

Mr. Horam added that the law was being used to good effect in Britain. "It's become a major weapon in the UK. All sorts of information is now open to the public. The whole world is really better off for having information about all sorts of things."

Bermuda was promised FOI in 2003 by the PLP but remains one of a number of British Overseas Territories without such a law and without whistleblower legislation to protect those who expose wrongdoing in government.

The FAC report reveals that Anguilla also lacks both laws. A Montserrat citizen told MPs that all matters dealt with by government there were "shrouded in secrecy".

And environmental consultancy BioDiplomacy told the committee that many people on St. Helena would like to see the British FOI law apply to their country.

The organisation suggested that Cayman — which passed a law last year — could be used as a good practice model by other territories.