In the UK a tangle of more than 80 laws prevents officials from releasing information to the public.
In State Secrets Ed Boyle follows the trail of a confidential ' Think Tank' report from its leak somewhere in Whitehall, via Stockholm and Amsterdam, back to a public library shelf in London. Its contents could affect the welfare of all of us, so are those who passed the brown paper parcel along its way criminals or men of conscience?
Then he visits a Yorkshire couple who believe that their neighbour - a giant chemical plant-is endangering their health and safety. Local officials know the facts because, they say, they need to, but don't the couple - indeed the public-have a 'right to know as well?
For 'it's not just laws that keep things hidden, it's tradition, the British way of doing things ... not so much the legislation more a way of life.
Film editor MICHAEL CASEY
Series producer HUGH PURCELL Producer SUE BOURNE