Secretary of State for Defence (Ministry of Defence)

The complainant has requested information from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) about the alleged deployment of anti-drone technology to US air force bases in the UK. The MOD refused to confirm or deny whether it held any information falling in the scope of the request on the basis of sections 23(5) (security bodies), 24(2) (national security), 26(3) (defence), 27(4) (international relations) and 31(3) (law enforcement) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the MOD was entitled to refuse to confirm or deny whether it held any information falling within the scope of the request on the basis of section 27(4) and that in all the circumstances of the request the public interest favours maintaining the exemption.