Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested, from the Cabinet Office, the names of people who reviewed a witness statement that was made by a named senior civil servant, and information about any contact between that person and former Prime Ministers Theresa May or Boris Johnson since a certain date in December 2022. The Cabinet Office refused the request on the basis of section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious or repeated requests). The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office was correct to rely on section 14(1) of FOIA to refuse the complainant’s request of 21 November 2024; he also finds that the Cabinet Office breached section 17(5) of FOIA (refusal of request), as it failed to issue its refusal notice stating its reliance on section 14(1) within 20 working days of receiving the request. The Commissioner doesn’t require any steps.