Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Date 3 February 2023
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 17: Upheld, FOI 23: Not upheld, FOI 24: Not upheld
The complainant has requested information about the so-called Bethnal Green trio. The above public authority refused to confirm or deny that it held information within the scope of the request and relied on sections 23 (security bodies) 24 (national security) and 27 of FOIA (international relations) in order to do so. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public authority is entitled to rely on both sections 23(5) and 24(2) of FOIA in order to refuse to confirm or deny that it holds the requested information. In respect of section 24(2), the balance of the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. The public authority breached section 17 of FOIA by not responding within 20 working days. The Commissioner does not require further steps.
Keywords: territory of national security