George Greenwood v Information Commissioner & Anor
[2024] UKFTT 834 (GRC)
Kadhim Shubber v The Information Commissioner & Anor
26 November 2024
[2024] UKFTT 1054 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for the costs of their Unaoil investigation. The SFO refused, and the Information Commissioner agreed. But a court overturned that decision, saying the SFO hadn't proven that releasing the information would cause real harm. The court ordered the SFO to release the information.
Key Facts
- •Kadhim Shubber requested cost information from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) regarding their Unaoil investigation.
- •The Information Commissioner (IC) upheld the SFO's refusal to disclose the information, citing exemptions under sections 31(1)(a), 31(1)(b), and 31(1)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
- •Shubber appealed the IC's decision to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT).
- •The FTT found the IC's decision to be erroneous.
- •The SFO's arguments relied heavily on the 'precedent effect' and 'mosaic effect' but lacked sufficient evidence.
Legal Principles
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Section 1(1): General right of access to information held by public authorities.
Paragraph 26
FOIA Section 2(2): Exemptions to the duty to disclose; public interest test.
Paragraph 29
FOIA Section 31(1): Exemptions relating to law enforcement; prejudice to prevention/detection of crime, apprehension/prosecution of offenders, and administration of justice.
Paragraph 33
'Precedent effect' and 'mosaic effect' are relevant considerations but must be supported by evidence of a real and significant risk of prejudice.
Paragraphs 44-67
Outcomes
The appeal was allowed.
The FTT found that the SFO and the IC failed to establish that the disclosure of the requested information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the matters specified in sections 31(1)(a), 31(1)(b), and 31(1)(c) of the FOIA. Their arguments relied on unsupported assertions regarding the ‘precedent effect’ and ‘mosaic effect’ and mischaracterized the request.
Substituted Decision Notice issued.
The SFO must disclose the requested information within a specified timeframe.