Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The complainant requested copies of correspondence, minutes and memos between Jack Straw and Tony Blair relating to contingency plans for the war in Iraq. The public authority refused to provide this information citing exemptions at section 27 (International relations) and section 35 (Formulation/development of government policy) as its basis for doing so. It argued that the public interest in maintaining these exemptions outweighed the public interest in disclosure. At internal review, it upheld this position. The Commissioner has decided that the public authority was entitled to rely on section 35(1)(b) in relation to all of the withheld information at the time of the request. However, it failed to provide a response within the statutory period in breach of section 1(1)(a) and section 10(1). No steps are required.