Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested information regarding the legal advice provided to government about the legality of war in Iraq. The Cabinet Office confirmed that information relevant to the first two sections of the request was not held. It confirmed that material relevant to the third part of the request was held but that it was exempt under sections 35 and 42 of the Act. The Commissioner has decided that the public authority failed to comply with section 1(1)(a) within 20 working days and therefore it breached section 10(1) of the Act. As the Cabinet Office has now complied with section 1(1) (a) the Commissioner has not ordered any remedial steps in this regard, and the Commissioner has also found that the public authority appropriately determined that the public interest favoured maintained the exemptions in sections 35 and 42. Therefore the Cabinet Office has complied with the Act in refusing to supply the information subject to those exemptions.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 1 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld