Owen Boswarva v Information Commissioner & Anor

Owen Boswarva v Information Commissioner & Anor

Disclosure of the requested datasets and underlying data would adversely affect national security and public safety, as the information could be used to facilitate terrorist attacks on reservoirs. The public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure, given the severe risk posed.

Parties
Appellant: Owen Boswarva; First Respondent: Information Commissioner; Second Respondent: Environment Agency
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 October 2021
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Final Judgment
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Environmental Information Regulations, Freedom of Information, National Security, Public Safety, Data Disclosure
Information Rights Environmental Law Administrative Law Environmental Information Regulations Freedom of Information National Security Public Safety Data Disclosure

Case Brief

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Parties

Owen Boswarva

Appellant

Information Commissioner

First Respondent

Environment Agency

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Environment Agency can withhold dataset AfA113 under Regulation 12(5)(a) of EIR
  2. 2 Whether underlying data for flood depth and speed layers can be withheld under Regulation 12(5)(a)
  3. 3 Whether public interest in disclosure outweighs national security and public safety concerns

Ratio Decidendi

Disclosure of the requested datasets and underlying data would adversely affect national security and public safety, as the information could be used to facilitate terrorist attacks on reservoirs. The public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure, given the severe risk posed.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Decision of the Information Commissioner upheld
  • No further disclosure of datasets AfA113 or underlying flood depth/speed data