Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

The complainant on behalf of a charity has submitted seven separate requests for information to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (the MHRA) for information relating to the plant “St. John’s Wort”. The MHRA has relied on section 14(1) of FOIA to refuse all seven requests, on the basis that they are vexatious. The Commissioner’s decision is that the MHRA is entitled to rely on section 14 of FOIA. He is satisfied that the complainant’s requests can be characterised as being vexatious. The requests appear to be part of a concerted campaign that has resulted in a number of requests for information from different requesters, culminating in the complainant’s requests, which have placed a significant burden on the MHRA. However, the Commissioner has recorded procedural breaches of sections 1, 10 and 17 of FOIA. The Commissioner does not require the MHRA to take any further action in this matter.