Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The complainant made a request to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for information concerning José Mauricio Bustani, the former Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In response the public authority disclosed a quantity of information falling within the scope of the request. However, some information was redacted under the exemption in section 27(1) (International relations) of the Act. The Commissioner has investigated the complaint and has found that the exemption was correctly applied and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure. In its handling of the request the Commissioner found that the public authority complied with section 10(1) Time for compliance) but breached section 17(1)(b) (Refusal of a request). The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken. Information Tribunal appeal number EA/2010/0151 part allowed.