Information Commissioner's Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

26 May 2016, Central government

The complainant submitted two requests to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) seeking information about the guidance provided to intelligence officers and personnel applicable to the passing of intelligence relating to individuals who are at risk of targeted lethal strikes outside traditional battlefields. The FCO refused to confirm or deny whether it held the requested information on the basis of sections 23(5) (security bodies) and section 24(2) (national security) of FOIA. The FCO also declined to provide its reasoning to the complainant for relying on these exemptions citing section 17(4) of FOIA as a basis upon which to do so. The Commissioner’s decision is that the FCO is entitled to rely on both sections 23(5) and 24(2) to refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information. Furthermore the Commissioner has also concluded that disclosure of the FCO’s rationale for relying on these exemptions would involve the disclosure of information that is itself exempt and thus the FCO is entitled to rely on section 17(4) of FOIA.

FOI 17: Not upheld FOI 23: Not upheld FOI 24: Not upheld