Investigative journalist Phil Miller has launched a fundraising campaign to help fund legal costs as he challenges the UK Foreign Office at an Information Tribunal over the release of secret files related to the work of British mercenaries in Sri Lanka.
Despite an ongoing Metropolitan Police probe into the activity of Keenie Meenie Services in Sri Lanka and the company’s involvement in potential war crimes, the Foreign Office has refused to release the contents of a 1985 file.
"This is censorship,” Miller told the Tamil Guardian. “The Foreign Office is censoring British history and covering up the full truth about UK mercenaries in Sri Lanka.”
“You have to ask yourself why the UK government wants to keep a file about Keenie Meenie hidden from the Tamil community until 2046? The government's own rules say diplomatic files should be released after 20 years, not 60 years. So I'm taking the government to court to stop it from hiding history.”
The fundraiser, which will be active for the rest of this month, will pay for the legal costs of the challenge.
“If we win, the full file will be made public, allowing you to read the real story about the relationship between Thatcher's government and British mercenaries,” said Miller.
“It will also help set a precedent to make it easier for others to access historical Foreign Office files.”
See the fundraiser here.
