On Wednesday, 7 August 2024, the Information Tribunal delivered a scathing judgement upholding a Freedom of Information Act appeal by Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) against the Information Commissioner, who had previously agreed that the exemptions applied by the Home Office were engaged after it refused to disclose information regarding the deportation process to Eritrea and Somalia. The Home Office justified its refusal by citing potential harm to international relations and prejudice to immigration controls.
In conclusion, the Tribunal noted its "surprise that the Commissioner thought it appropriate to accept the Home Office's bare assertions, given the way in which it had responded to the previous requests described above and the compulsion required before it then properly engaged with these. In turn, the Commissioner's Decision Notices disclose no consideration of the various public interest factors carefully put forward by BID. A pattern of conduct has been established on the part of the Home Office that is within neither the spirit nor the letter of FOIA, and which can now be seen as having resulted in considerable delay together with expense of resources both on the part of the Tribunal and BID, a charity. We hope that future decisions will be reached after considerably more care and scrutiny."
The Home Office now has 35 days to comply with each request by providing the requested information.
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