BBC

The complainant has requested a copy of the Balen Report “Reporting the Middle East” paper JB(04)40 (the Balen Report). The BBC explained that the information was covered by the derogation and excluded from FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Balen Report is held by the BBC for the purposes of ‘journalism, art or literature’ and does not fall inside FOIA. The Commissioner therefore upholds the BBC’s position and requires no remedial steps to be taken in this case. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2013/0192 dismissed.