Information Commissioner's Office

Attorney Generals Office

1 December 2016, Central government

The complainant submitted a request to the public authority for information relating to a drone strike in Syria by the United States which targeted and killed a British national fighting with the so called Islamic State. The Commissioner has concluded that the public authority was entitled to withhold the information held within the scope of the request on the basis of the exemption at section 42(1) (legal professional privilege). She has also concluded that the public authority was entitled to rely on the exclusions contained at sections 23(5) and 24(2) (security bodies and national security) and 35(3) (Law Officers advice) to neither confirm nor deny whether it held relevant information within the scope of the request. No steps are required.

FOI 23: Not upheld FOI 24: Not upheld FOI 35: Not upheld FOI 42: Not upheld