Ministers are to scrap the £1 charge for downloading documents from the Companies House website, meaning journalists will gain free access.

The move will make company accounts, shareholdings and director appointments more easily accessible in data form and is part of a move by the government towards open data and corporate transparency.

Business secretary Vince Cable said:  “The government firmly believes that the best way to maximise the value to the UK economy of the information which Companies House holds, is for it to be available as open data.

“By making its data freely available and free of charge, Companies House is making the UK a more transparent, efficient and effective place to do business.”