UK Government told to disclose Wales Office net zero records
A Tribunal judge has ordered the UK government to release details of meetings between the Secretary of State for Wales and major companies including Shell, Toyota, and Tata Steel on net zero policies.
The decision follows a campaign by investigative journalist Lucas Amin of Democracy For Sale, who challenged the government’s refusal to disclose briefing notes and minutes from the 2023 meetings.
Lucas, represented by law firm Leigh Day, first made the request in December 2023, seeking records of discussions held between the Secretary of State and private companies including Toyota, Aston Martin, Shell, HyNet and Tata Steel.
Topics covered included the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, e-fuels, de-carbonisation, and carbon capture and storage.
The Wales Office rejected the request in February 2024, arguing that releasing the information would breach a duty of confidence and harm relationships between the government and private firms. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) later upheld that decision.
The government eventually released heavily redacted documents in November 2024, but Lucas appealed to the First-tier Tribunal with support from Leigh Day solicitors.
The Tribunal has now ruled in his favour, ordering the Wales Office to provide the requested information in full.
In its judgment, the Tribunal found that disclosure was firmly in the public interest, citing the importance of transparency and accountability in climate policy decision-making. The judge noted several strong reasons for disclosure, including:
“Providing the public with greater understanding of business engagement at the Wales Office.”
“Increasing accountability and public confidence in the integrity of decision making in an area of crucial importance to the public.”
“Allowing the public to see whether or not claims made in public by private companies regarding the scale and extent of their net zero transition activities reflect what they are telling the government (‘greenwashing’).”
“The overwhelming public interest in tackling the existential threat of climate change, the reason behind the ZEV [zero emissions vehicles] mandate and other net zero policies.”
Lucas Amin said:
“We are delighted to see the Tribunal has found a strong public interest in publishing records that reveal how Britain’s biggest companies lobby ministers in private. The judge has also noted the special importance of scrutinising claims of ‘greenwash,’ which was our intention in making these requests. This decision helps to close a ‘transparency gap’ between what firms say publicly about climate change and net zero, and what they actually do in secretive meetings with ministers. We’d like to give a special thank you to the team at Leigh Day – Rowan, Julia and Lily – who were brilliant throughout, and to our outstanding counsel at Landmark, Alex Goodman KC and Alex Shattock.”
Leigh Day solicitor Julia Eriksen said:
“We are pleased with this outcome for our client, who has now seen his arguments for disclosing the requested information vindicated after a Tribunal ruling. Lucas argued that releasing the information would be in the public interest, contrary to what the Welsh Office and ICO had determined, with the Tribunal judge describing his arguments as ‘compelling’. This decision is a positive move in favour of increased accountability, and our client now looks forward to receiving the requested information.”
The Tribunal’s decision requires the Wales Office to disclose the full meeting records in the coming weeks.
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