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England and Wales decisions
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The Tribunal allowed the first FOIA appeal on section 12 cost grounds and dismissed the second, upholding the MOD’s section 23(5) NCND response.
Section 27 FOIA is engaged for information highlighted in yellow, as disclosure would likely prejudice UK international relations and interests abroad. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Section 36 FOIA is not engaged for information highlighted in green, as the qualified person's opinion was not reasonable and lacked evidential basis. Section 40(2) FOIA applies to personal data, as disclosure is not necessary for the applicant's legitimate interests.
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The Tribunal dismissed Airwars’ FOIA appeal for civilian-harm assessment documents concerning a March 2018 Syria strike, accepting exemptions for security, defence, relations, and privilege.
The First-tier Tribunal dismissed Peter Stead’s FOIA appeal over withheld information about proposed AI and copyright policy, upholding exemptions for international relations, privilege, and confidentiality.
The Tribunal found that exemptions under sections 27(1)(a) and (c) and 35(1)(b) of FOIA were engaged for the withheld documents. The risk of prejudice to UK international relations and Cabinet collective responsibility was real and significant, outweighing the public interest in disclosure. The appeal was allowed and no further disclosure was required.
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The tribunal partly allowed a FOIA appeal about Cabinet Office records on meetings with Gautam Adani and related Science Museum sponsorship material.
Disclosure of subcontractor names would likely prejudice UK international relations and interests abroad; official confirmation by the UK government is materially different from unofficial publication; public interest in maintaining exemptions outweighs public interest in disclosure.
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The Tribunal found that all the requested aggregate figures fell within the scope of section 23(1) FOIA (or alternatively section 24(1)), as they related to or were supplied by security bodies, and that disaggregation was not possible. Even if section 27(1)(a) applied, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure, given the real risk of prejudice to international relations and national security, as supported by both open and closed evidence. The appeal could not succeed if section 23(1) applied to all the information.
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The withheld information in JSP900 is exempt under section 23 FOIA as it relates to security bodies, and under section 26 FOIA as its disclosure would prejudice the capability, effectiveness, and security of the relevant forces, including threat to life. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. MOD's late reliance on exemptions is permissible. The appeal is dismissed.
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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was not entitled to rely on FOIA exemptions to withhold information regarding wine supplied at No 10 Downing Street functions where no overseas guest was in attendance; the Information Commissioner’s decision notice was not in accordance with the law to that extent.
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