Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The complainant requested information relating to the Supreme Defence Council of Yugoslavia from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The FCO refused the request under section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) as compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The complainant submitted a second request, which the FCO interpreted as having a narrower scope and was able to deny any relevant information was held. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation it became apparent that the scope intended by the complainant was much wider than the FCO had originally thought. When the FCO handled the request in accordance with the complainant’s interpretation it refused the request under section 12(1) of the Act. The Commissioner’s decision is that FCO is entitled to refuse both requests under section 12(1) of the Act. No steps are required.