Petition · past parliament
Put a stop to changing the Official Secrets Act pre-inquiry.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Stop all proceedings that seek to change the official secrets act until a full, independent inquiry has been carried out on the governments activity throughout the pandemic.
The potential of a journalist being jailed for 14 years for whistle blowing is a risk to the inquiry.
The potential of a journalist being jailed for 14 years for whistle blowing is a risk to the inquiry.
Stop the processes of changing the Official secrets Act to allow for an external & independent review & inquiry of the governments activity throughout the pandemic.
There have been many wrong decisions & many alleged wrong doings by the government during the pandemic. To restrict the rights of journalists & whistleblowers and threaten 14 years imprisonment is to restrict the truth and freedom of speech that the public needs to scrutinise the UK leaders.
We need the truth for the lives lost.
There have been many wrong decisions & many alleged wrong doings by the government during the pandemic. To restrict the rights of journalists & whistleblowers and threaten 14 years imprisonment is to restrict the truth and freedom of speech that the public needs to scrutinise the UK leaders.
We need the truth for the lives lost.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. We're not sure whether you want any changes to the Official Secrets Act to be delayed until after an inquiry into Covid-19 or not to happen at all.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.
You might also be interested to find out more about statutory public inquiries and the powers they already have:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06410/
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. We're not sure whether you want any changes to the Official Secrets Act to be delayed until after an inquiry into Covid-19 or not to happen at all.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.
You might also be interested to find out more about statutory public inquiries and the powers they already have:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06410/
Timeline
| 21 Jul 2021 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 27 Jul 2021 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
27 Jul 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.