Information Commissioner's Office

West Midlands Police

22 June 2015, Police and criminal justice

The complainant requested a list of 168 court exhibits relating to the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings, with details of which of these are missing. West Midlands Police disclosed a list of the exhibits, but with some of the content of this redacted. It refused to disclose details of which exhibits are missing. In relation to the withheld information, it relied on the exemptions provided by the following sections of the FOIA: 30(1)(a) (information held for the purposes of an investigation), 38(1)(a) (endangerment to health), 40(2) (personal information). The Commissioner’s decision is that WMP correctly withheld the information in relation to which sections 30(1)(a) and 40(2) were cited. Section 38(1)(a) was cited correctly in relation to some of the redactions, but the Commissioner finds that this exemption was not engaged in relation to other redactions and WMP is now required to disclose that content. The Commissioner requires WMP to disclose the following redacted content, in relation to which the Commissioner has found that section 38(1)(a) was not engaged: Exhibit numbers: 1 to 21, 43, 105B, 116, 124. WMP must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice.

FOI 30: Not upheld FOI 38: Partly upheld FOI 40: Not upheld