The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for correspondence between FCO offices in London and FCO offices in four other countries about whether FCO buildings should or should not fly the gay pride flag at any stage. The FCO withheld the requested information on the basis of section 35(1)(a) (formulation and development of government policy) of FOIA. The Commissioner is satisfied that the exemption is engaged but has concluded that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest favours disclosing the requested information. However, in disclosing this information the FCO can redact the names of any junior staff on the basis of section 40(2) (personal data) of FOIA.
FOI 35: Upheld FOI 40: Not upheld
Citations:
[2017] UKICO FS50646723
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 09 February 2022; Ref: scu.579764