Secretary of State for Defence (Ministry of Defence)

The complainant submitted a request to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) seeking information about the UK’s presentation about UAP (Unidentified Aerial or Anomalous Phenomena) at a Five Eyes meeting. The MOD’s final position in respect of this request was to refuse to confirm or deny that it held the requested information, citing sections 23 (security bodies), 24 (national security), 26 (defence) and 27 (international relations) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the MOD was entitled to rely on section 23(5) to refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information.