Attorney General's Office

The complainant requested, from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), any legal advice provided about arms sales to Saudi Arabia, specifically any unpublished advice in relation to the arms trade and High Court cases involving the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) since 2015. AGO refused to confirm or deny holding information within scope of the request, citing section 35(3) of FOIA with section 35(1)(c). Together those sections provide that the duty to confirm or deny holding information within scope of a request does not arise in relation to information which is (or would be, if held) exempt from disclosure because it relates to the provision of advice by any of the Law Officers. The Commissioner’s decision is that AGO was correct to rely on the provisions it cited and thereby neither confirm nor deny (NCND) holding information. He does not require any further steps as a result of this decision notice.