Special Events.
Heather Brooke is London-based freelance investigative reporter. She was frustrated because British public record laws kept the former US journalist from reporting and writing a seemingly mundane story tracking politicians' expenses.

Brooke was writing a book on the UK's then, not-yet-in-effect, Freedom of Information Act when she was denied access to records of Members of Parliament's (MP) expenses.

She began filing FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests Jan. 1, 2005, the day the act took effect.

Almost all of her requests were rejected, but she followed the request for MPs' second home allowances through the appeals process that ended with a favorable ruling from the High Court of Justice, ultimately leading to the resignation of the House Commons Speaker Michael Martin among others.

Brooke was recently honored by the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) with a FOI Award for her work.

This video (1hour 21min) is her keynote presentation, describing her experiences, January 16th, 2010 to an audience of open government enthusiasts sponsored by the Washington Coalition of Open Government.