Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Date 4 January 2016
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 23: Not upheld, FOI 24: Not upheld, FOI 27: Not upheld, FOI 35: Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) regarding allegations that the charity Islamic Relief Worldwide had provided funding to Hamas. The FCO refused to disclose the information it held on the basis of the exemptions contained at the following sections of FOIA: sections 21 (information reasonably accessible by other means); 27(1)(a), (c) and (d); 27(2) (international relations); 35(1)(a) (government policy) and 41(1) (information provided in confidence) of FOIA. The FCO also sought to refuse to confirm or deny whether it held any further information on the basis of sections 23(5) and 24(2) of FOIA (security bodies and national security). The Commissioner has concluded that the withheld information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of the exemptions contained at sections 35 and 27 FOIA. The Commissioner is also satisfied that the FCO is entitled to rely on sections 23(5) and 24(2) to refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds any further information falling within the scope of the request.