The Campaign for Freedom of Information have very helpfully drawn attention to an unexpected Government announcement which arises out of the Independent Commission for FOI report (a summary here). Readers will recall that the Government had proposed introducing fees for FOI appeals, but that ended up getting parked because of the Commission review. The Ministry of Justice has now, in a Response to the Justice Committee’s Second Report, seen fit to brandish a more threatening sabre:
Chilcot, Blair and FOIA
FOIA remains a potent tool for enhancing transparency on issues of great public importance. Two recent decisions – concerning the Chilcot Inquiry and the post-prime ministerial activities of Tony Blair – are good current illustrations. Continue reading
103-year old files correctly withheld under FOIA
Is it plausible that information over a century old could be withheld under FOIA on the grounds of national security and/or endangerment of health and safety? The answer is evidently ‘yes’. That was the outcome of a request for information on informants in the Jack the Ripper investigations (see Marriott v IC EA/2010/0183). A request for information on police informants involved in Irish secret societies over the period 1890-1910 has met the same outcome. Continue reading
ANPR and personal data
Automatic Number Plate Recognition allows a vehicle to be tracked to its registered keeper. It is clearly a form of identifier linking a car and its movements with a specific individual. It is that person’s personal data. But could it be the personal data of other people as well – such as passengers in the car? Continue reading
The GDPR is to become law in the UK
So sayeth Secretary of State Karen Bradley MP in her evidence to the Culture, Media, and Sports Select Committee on Monday 24th October 2016. In fact, her precise words were: ‘We will be members of the EU in 2018 and therefore it would be expected and quite normal for us to opt into the GDPR and then look later at how best we might be able to help British business with data protection while maintaining high levels of protection for members of the public’ (see here). This statement has since been welcomed by Elizabeth Denham, as reflected on the ICO’s blog. Continue reading
Whose Article 10 rights – the journalist or the confidential source?
Does a media corporation breach a source’s article 10 rights by voluntarily disclosing their identity to the police? Is source confidentiality lost by criminal conduct? These are the questions that the Court of Appeal had to grapple with in the appeal against conviction brought by former prison officer Robert Norman.