Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested from the Cabinet Office any documentation emanating from, or sent to, the Office of the Prime Minister between 1997 and 2001 that made reference to the Michael Stone case, in any context. The Cabinet Office confirmed it held some information falling within the request but refused to disclose the information under the exemption at section 35(1)(b) (ministerial communications). In submissions to the Commissioner, the Cabinet Office also placed reliance upon section 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy) and section 40(2) (personal information). The Commissioner has found that section 35(1)(a) (and to a limited extent, section 35(1)(b)) is engaged and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the information. The Commissioner also finds that the Cabinet Office breached section 17(1) in that it failed to provide an adequate refusal notice to the complainant.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 35 - Complaint Not upheld