Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Date 5 December 2018
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 27: Not upheld, FOI 40: Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) seeking communications between the FCO in London and the British embassy in Washington concerning General Michael Flynn. The FCO provided the complainant with some information falling within the scope of his request but sought to withhold further information on the basis of sections 27(1)(a), (c) and (d) (international relations); 31(1)(c) (law enforcement) and 40(2) (personal data) of FOIA. The Commissioner has concluded that withheld information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of sections 27(1)(a), (b) and (d) and that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest favours maintaining the exemptions. The Commissioner has also concluded that the FCO has correctly applied section 40(2) to some of the withheld information.