Department for International Trade

The complainant has requested copies of named documents regarding UK/US trade discussions that were allegedly leaked. The Department for International Trade (“DIT”) refused to confirm or deny whether it held such information and cited section 27(4) (prejudice to international relations) and section 35(3) (formulation/development of government policy) as its basis for doing so. It upheld this at internal review. The Commissioner’s decision is that DIT is entitled to rely on section 27(4) as its basis for refusing to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information. No steps are required.