The Scottish government subjected journalists to an “additional layer of clearance” when making Freedom of Information requests, a report has found.

Scotland’s Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry said journalists faced delays, were less likely to get information and treated differently from other members of the public by Holyrood officials.

A review of the Scottish government’s handling of FoI was undertaken after 23 journalist claimed last year they were routinely being screened for potential political damage by special advisers.

Mr Fitzhenry said the policy had breached the “blind principle” of FoI laws which states that all requests from press and public should be treated alike.

In his report, he wrote: “Journalists, together with MSPs and political researchers, are expressly made subject to a different process for clearance than other requester groups.

“This is inconsistent with the applicant-blind principle of FoI legislation. Their requests are almost invariably subjected to an additional layer of clearance which is likely to delay the consideration of the case.”

The report found the proportion of late responses and failures to respond was considerably higher for journalists, particularly in 2015/16 and 2016/17, and Mr Fitzhenry observed “unjustifiable, significant delays and disregard for the statutory timescales”.

He also found evidence of a “deliberate” delay one occasion, but suggested this may be higher but for the “paucity” of information in case files.

John Toner, NUJ Scotland organiser, said: “Daren Fitzhenry’s report is a serious and shaming indictment of the Scottish government, and it clearly confirms what many journalists have suspected for some time.

“Journalists act on behalf of the public, and should not be treated as second-class citizens. We note that the SNP government has accepted the recommendations in full, but this is clearly an issue that we will continue to monitor.”

Scottish National Party parliamentary business minister Joe Fitzpatrick told The Scotsman ministers have already implemented a number of changes that have resulted in “significant improvements” in FoI performance.

He added: “In the first five months of 2018 we responded to 93% of FOI requests on time, exceeding the 90pc target set by the Information Commissioner and a 10pc increase on last year.

“Outside the FoI process, last year the Scottish Government responded to over 5,000 queries from journalists in a matter of hours.”