The power devolved to councils and the presence of councillors willing to talk out means much more uncomfortable information tends to leak out of the system.

BBC: How the NHS locks away its secrets

Research recommendations have to go through a departmental approval process, meaning the decision to downgrade was reached days before the public disclosure, leaving time for the information to leak out.

FORBES: Tipping The Shorts

As with diplomats, companies do not earn trust by using every interaction with a consumer to profile them, much less by storing that information in a database that can, and often does, leak out.

FORBES: The Privacy Lessons in the Latest Wikileaks Data Dump