Attorney General's Office

The complainant requested information put before the Solicitor General by Attorney General’s Office officials. The Solicitor General had decided that an application by the complainant for a fresh inquest into the death of his late mother would not have a reasonable prospect of success before the High Court. His request was refused relying on the section 42(1) FOIA exemption (legal professional privilege). The Commissioner decided that the section 42(1) FOIA exemption was engaged and was not persuaded that there was a compelling public interest in disclosure sufficient to override the inherent public interest in protecting legal professional privilege. She therefore decided that the Attorney General’s Office had correctly relied on the exemption to withhold the information. She also decided that the section 40(1) FOIA exemption (personal information) had been correctly applied to some of the information. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps to comply with the legislation. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2017/0210 struck out.