Greenslade praise for Heather Brooke

Good to see Roy Greenslade praising Heather Brooke in the Evening Standard today for her role in making MPs' expenses public.
It was Brooke who won a High Court victory over the Parliamentary authorities to force the release of MPs’ expenses details.
Greenslade writes: "The sorry saga of MPs' expenses is a remarkable media story. It began with a dogged investigation by a lone campaigner. It eventually turned into a cause célèbre as almost every national newspaper editor took up the case. It has now culminated in a truly eye-opening series of public-interest revelations...
"Let me first praise Heather Brooke, the freelance journalist who skilfully based her campaign to force the Commons authorities to reveal how MPs spend taxpayers' money by applying the letter and the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.
"Though the Act is imperfect, Brooke - who spent a large portion of her journalistic life in the United States where there is much greater official transparency - has a sincere belief in public accountability.
"She also enthuses trainee journalists to follow her path, as I have witnessed because she gives a yearly lecture to my post-grad journalism students at London's City University. It is always received well.
"Brooke follows in the tradition of journalists who pursue single-minded missions on behalf of the greater good, earning only a meagre reward for their efforts."
Brooke is launching a petition with the TaxPayers’ Alliance calling for the publication of all receipts behind MPs' expenses claims.