Noel Titheradge v The Information Commissioner
[2023] UKFTT 446 (GRC)
Noel Titheradge v The Information Commissioner & Anor.
26 May 2023
[2023] UKFTT 447 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A reporter wanted police video showing an officer turning off a camera. The police said no because it showed other people, and the information was already public. The judge agreed; the video wouldn't add much new information, so the police didn't have to show it.
Key Facts
- •Noel Titheradge, a BBC investigative reporter, requested BWV footage of PC Anderson turning off a fellow officer's BWV camera.
- •PC Anderson was dismissed from British Transport Police (BTP) for gross misconduct.
- •BTP withheld the footage under section 40(2) FOIA, claiming it contained personal data.
- •The Information Commissioner upheld BTP's decision.
- •Titheradge appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT).
- •The FTT viewed the footage and considered the scope of the request and the relevant legal principles.
Legal Principles
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Section 40(2): Information is exempt if it constitutes personal data and disclosure would contravene data protection principles.
FOIA
Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and UK GDPR: Defines personal data and sets out lawful bases for processing, including legitimate interests.
DPA & UK GDPR
Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR: Processing is lawful if necessary for legitimate interests, unless overridden by data subject's rights and freedoms.
UK GDPR
Proportionality test: A measure interfering with a right must be the least restrictive for achieving a legitimate aim.
South Lanarkshire Council v Scottish Information Commissioner [2013] 1 WLR 2421
The Tribunal's role is to determine if the Commissioner's decision was lawful or if discretion was exercised appropriately.
FOIA Section 58
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The FTT found the requested footage, narrowly construed, contained minimal additional information beyond what was already publicly known. Disclosure was deemed not reasonably necessary to serve the legitimate public interest in transparency and understanding of police misconduct.