Ministry of Defence

The complainant submitted a request to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) seeking firstly statistics about Reaper and Typhoon missions, and secondly information about an investigation regarding a particular Reaper strike. In response to the first element of the request the MOD disclosed some information but sought to withhold the remainder on the basis of section 23(1) (security bodies), or in the alternative, section 24(1) (national security), section 26(1)(b) (defence) and sections 27(1)(a) and (c) (international relations) of FOIA. In response to the second element of the request, the MOD disclosed some information but withheld additional information on the basis of section 23(1), or in the alternative, section 24(1) and section 26(1)(b). The Commissioner’s decision is that the information sought by questions 1b) to 4, and the additional information falling within the scope of question 6, is exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 23(1) or section 24(1) of FOIA. Information Tribunal under appeal.