Information Commissioner's Office

Cabinet Office

19 February 2008, Central government

The complainant wrote the Cabinet Office to request “Any record or document or extract thereof reporting or evidencing discussions between President Bush and the Prime Minister about the bombing of Al-Jazeera television office in Qatar or elsewhere. The request additionally seeks any document which records comment upon or analysis of such discussions.” The Cabinet Office informed the complainant that a memo it holds recording discussions between President Bush and the Prime Minister in April 2004 “does not refer to the “bombing of Al-Jazeera television offices in Qatar or elsewhere.” The Commissioner believes that the Cabinet Office should not have restricted its response to consideration of the April 2004 memo alone. The Commissioner therefore not only investigated whether the Cabinet Office was correct in its assertion in relation to the 2004 memo but also investigated whether it held any other information which contains details of the subject matter requested. Having conducted his analysis, the Commissioner is satisfied that the Cabinet Office did not hold any information which fell within the scope of the complainant’s request.

FOI 1: Partly upheld