Secretary of State for Defence (Ministry of Defence)

The complainant submitted a request to the Ministry of Defence seeking communications between certain dates exchanged by ‘MOD Civilian HR’ the Government Legal Department about a complaint which had been made to MOD Civilian HR. The MOD confirmed that it held information falling within the scope of the request but considered this to be exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 42 (legal professional privilege) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that information in the scope of the request is exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 42 and that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest favours withholding the information.