Crown Prosecution Service
- Date 13 January 2014
- Sector Police and criminal justice
- Decision(s) FOI 30: Not upheld, FOI 40: Not upheld
The complainant has requested information relating to abuse allegedly committed by Cyril Smith, former MP for Rochdale against children. The Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) refused to provide this citing section 30 (investigations information) as its basis for doing so. It upheld this position at internal review and also introduced reliance on section 40 (unfair disclosure of personal data) and section 42 (legal professional privilege). The Commissioner’s decision is that the CPS is entitled to rely on section 30(1) and section 40(2) as its basis for refusing to provide the requested information. No steps are required. Information Tribunal appea EA/2014/0012 allowed.