Secretary of State for Defence (Ministry of Defence)
- Date 28 March 2025
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 17: Upheld, FOI 23: Not upheld, FOI 26: Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) seeking a copy of the 2017 version of ‘JSP 398 - UK Rules of Engagement’. The MOD provided the complainant with a redacted version of this with the material being withheld on the basis of sections 23(1) (security bodies), 24(1) (national security), 26(1)(a) and (b) (defence), 27(1)(a) and (b) (international relations), and 40(2) (personal data) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the redacted material information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 23(1) and sections 26(1)(a) and (b) of FOIA. However, the MOD breached sections 10(1) and 17(1) by failing to respond to the request within 20 working days.