Information Commissioner's Office

Crown Prosecution Service

12 May 2016, Police and criminal justice

The complainant has requested information relating to allegations of child sexual abuse allegations made against Cyril Smith. The Crown Prosecution Service withheld some information under the exemptions at sections 21(1) (information accessible to applicant by other means) and 40(2) (personal information) of the FOIA. It also relied on the provisions in sections 23(5) (information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters) and 24(2) (national security) of the FOIA as the basis for neither confirming nor denying whether it held any information in scope subject to the exemptions at sections 23(1) and 24(1). The Commissioner considers that the Crown Prosecution Service has applied sections 23(5) and 24(2) and 40(2) appropriately but has not applied section 21 appropriately.  He also considers that the Crown Prosecution Service has breached section 17(1). However, as the complainant is in possession of all of the information which is not correctly exempt from disclosure, the Commissioner does not require the Crown Prosecution Service to take any further steps as a result of this decision.

FOI 21: Upheld FOI 23: Not upheld FOI 24: Not upheld FOI 40: Not upheld