Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office seeking information it held about Operation Flavius.  The FCO initially withheld all of the information falling within the scope of the request but at the internal review stage provided the complainant with some of the information in scope but sought to withhold the remainder on the basis of the exemptions contained at the following sections of FOIA: section 23(1) (security bodies), or in the alternative  24(1) (national security), 26(1)(a) and (b) (defence), 27(1)(a), (c) and (d) (international relations) and 40(2) (personal data). The Commissioner is satisfied that the exemptions cited by the FCO provide a basis upon which it can withhold the remaining information. However, she has concluded that the FCO breached section 17(3) by failing to complete its public interest considerations within a reasonable timeframe.