Information Commissioner
22 December 2008, Local government (Other)
The complainant wrote to the Information Commissioner to request notes of telephone conversations and internal correspondence regarding complaints he had previously submitted against the BBC. The Commissioner responded to the request by disclosing internal correspondence relating to his investigations into these complaints. However the Commissioner withheld the legal advice related to the complaints under the exemption in section 42 of the Act (legal professional privilege). The Commissioner, in his role as regulator, has now reviewed his handling of the request and has found that the withheld information constitutes the personal data of the complainant and that therefore the correct approach would have been to refuse to confirm or deny if the information was held under section 40(5)(a) of the Act. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken.
FOI 40:
Not upheld
