Downing Street Says » Freedom of Information Disclosure Statement

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) set out that the disclosure statement on the Iraq legal advice was a response to the Information Commissioner’s notice. Essentially there was nothing very new here, but it was decided that because Channel 4 had published a leaked copy of the Attorney General’s advice of 7 March during the General Election last year that we would make this response. The Commissioner himself had accepted that this did not in any way set a precedent. It was largely academic. As a reminder the 7 March advice was the Attorney General weighing up the pros and cons, by the 17 March, when he gave his final advice, the situation had changed. It had become clear that we were not going to get a second UN resolution and it in turn became clear that the Attorney General had to give a decision, yes or no. As the Attorney General had stressed himself, he had come to that view independently and that the answer was yes it was legal.

Asked whether the enforcement notice meant that the disclosure was not voluntary, the PMOS said that there had been an exchange with the Information Commissioner. We did not necessarily agree with his conclusions, but we had responded in a way that he agreed met the requirements of his enforcement notice. It was worth stressing that we still believed that it was important that the Attorney General, in not just in this matter but all other matters that he has to give advice on, had the space and therefore the privacy in which to make his decisions. This was why we had resisted publishing the analysis process, or indeed discussions with foreign governments.

Asked by Channel 4 which advice this disclosure related to, the PMOS said that it was the 7 March document, the leaked document Channel 4 had braodcast. Asked whether this had set a de facto precedent, the PMOS said that the Information Commissioner, himself, had been very clear that it had not set any precedent. Asked whether this was the full advice, the PMOS said that there were certain things that we had kept back: the analysis behind it and the process of research and inquiry for the reasons he had already set out. Asked what time period the disclosure covered, the PMOS said that it was from 7 March to 17 March.

Asked if this was the first time that the Information Commissioner had enforced the government to release information, the PMOS said that there were discussions all the time between the government and the Information Commissioner. It was not just about the relationship with Downing Street it was across all departments. People should speak to DCA for precise details.

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» Thursday, May 25, 2006

Freedom of Information Disclosure Statement

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