Richard's Kingdom

Today is the deadline for Cardiff Council to respond to my Freedom of Information Act request about their use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Unfortunately my inbox is bare and the question of whether Cardiff is a Clouseau Council remains unanswered. I think that’s probably illegal, but I guess I should be prepared [...]

I hope all you UK readers are planning to swing by your polling stations to vote today if there are elections in your area. Polls are open until 22:00 this evening so there’s no excuse for missing out. I’ll be casting my vote after I get back from mountain biking this evening. I wanted to [...]

In the film “The Return of the Pink Panther”, the bungling Inspector Clouseau famously admonishes a blind man and his “meunkey” for begging without a license, while failing to notice the armed robbery in progress at the bank behind him. Meanwhile in the real world, following up the story of Poole Borough Council using the [...]

When it was unveiled by MySociety in November 2006, the e-petitions system on the 10 Downing Street website promised a new interactive era of communication between Government and the people. In practice, however, talking to the Prime Minister and friends online is more like having a conversation with a parrot. The Government’s responses to e-petitions [...]

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers bill was sold as being a vital tool in the fight against child abuse, serious and organised crime, and yes, even terrorism. Now that it’s an Act of Parliament, we find it’s actually being used to enforce school catchment areas and target nuisance dog poo. Is wanting the best education [...]