The Unwillingness of the British Met to Release data

The UK Met Office will not disclosure weather station temperature data. Among the more interesting exchanges that I have come across is this:

Some of the information was provided to Professor Jones on the strict understanding by the data providers that this station data must not be publicly released and it cannot be determined which countries or stations data were given in confidence as records were not kept.

I called up John Hammond, a press official at the Met today, and he confirmed this statement. I then asked: "Given the confidentiality agreements, could you explain why the University of East Anglia was allowed to release the data to the Met but not to other academics?"

His response: "This is a question for the UEA."

So I again tried contacting the press office at the University of East Anglia, and I was told that they are unwilling to answer any questions.