Ministry of Justice

The complainant has requested information about legal aid costs relating to defendants in a high profile murder trial. The Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) would neither confirm nor deny whether it held the requested information, citing the exclusion from that obligation at section 40(5) (personal information). The Commissioner’s decision is that the MoJ was entitled to rely on section 40(5) to neither confirm nor deny whether it held the requested information. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken.