The Financial Times has applied for an internal review of the Treasury's decision to delete several sections of its documents on "Black Wednesday" released earlier in the week under the Freedom of Information Act.

But the paper reports a positive response from the City to the revelations that were made available, with economists believing the department has learnt the lessons of its "spectacularly wrong" forecasts on Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, leading up to September 1992.

Meanwhile, Lord Falconer, the constitutional affairs secretary, has defended the freedom of information legislation. 

"There is a public interest balance to be struck. Where it is struck is ultimately to be decided not by politicians but by the information commissioner and the information tribunal," he said.

"The idea that this is in some way a restrictive Act or less effective than other FoI regimes in other countries is completely wrong.

"Everyone agrees you need some position whereby the formulation of policy could be done suitably confidentially."