Information Commissioner's Office

HM Treasury

14 July 2016, Central government

The complainant submitted a request to the public authority for copies of correspondence and records of oral conversations between the former Prime Minister Tony Blair (and his representatives) and the public authority within a specified period. The public authority confirmed that it held a record of a phone conversation between Tony Blair and Lord Deighton, the former Commercial Secretary. It disclosed some information from the record of the conversation and withheld the remainder on the basis of the exemptions at sections 27(1)(a), 40(2), 41(1) and 43(2) FOIA. The Commissioner has concluded that the public authority was entitled to rely on the exemptions at sections 40(2) and 41(1) to withhold the information redacted from the record of the phone conversation between Tony Blair and Lord Deighton. No steps are required.

FOI 40: Not upheld FOI 41: Not upheld