Mark Roberts v The Information Commissioner

Mark Roberts v The Information Commissioner

Disclosure of the withheld information would adversely affect public safety and national security because the redacted details are not in the public domain and could be used to identify vulnerabilities in water infrastructure, increasing the risk of sabotage. The public interest in maintaining the exception...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: Mark Roberts; Respondent: The Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
24 November 2024
Procedural Posture
Information Rights Appeal / Final Judgment
Outcome
appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Environmental Information Regulations, Public Safety, National Security, Freedom of Information, Public Interest Test
Information Law Environmental Law Administrative Law Environmental Information Regulations Public Safety National Security Freedom of Information Public Interest Test

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Parties

Mark Roberts

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Information Rights Appeal / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether disclosure of the withheld information would adversely affect national security or public safety under regulation 12(5)(a) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)
  2. 2 Whether the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure
  3. 3 Whether the presumption in favour of disclosure applies

Ratio Decidendi

Disclosure of the withheld information would adversely affect public safety and national security because the redacted details are not in the public domain and could be used to identify vulnerabilities in water infrastructure, increasing the risk of sabotage. The public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure, and the presumption in favour of disclosure does not tip the balance.

Court Disposition

appeal dismissed