Information Rights Team Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2PA

Richard Wilson, Esq., Flat 3 41 Palace Square London SE1 2LT By e-mail: richardcameronwilson@yahoo.co.uk

31 July 2012

Dear Mr Wilson INTERNAL REVIEW OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - REQUEST REF: 0285-10 I am writing to you about your FOI request of 23 March 2010 for disclosure of a letter written in September 2009 from Tony Baldry of 1 Essex Court Chambers, which copied in the former Foreign Secretary. Although you did not directly request an internal review of the FOI decision, conveyed to you in an email of 17 June 2010, not to disclose relevant information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on subsequently reviewing your e-mail reply (also of 17 June 2010) this year decided that an internal review should take place, given that you said in your e-mail that this decision should be revisited. I apologise that this review was not conducted when you originally replied in 2010. I am writing to confirm that I have conducted a full examination of all the material, both released and exempted, of relevance to your request. I have concluded the following: Search for information The request was for a single document, which was found (the letter was in fact to the former Foreign Secretary, rather than copied to him). I am therefore content that a reasonable search was carried out in relation to your request. Use of exemptions Several exemptions were given at the time of your original enquiry, when the Foreign and Commonwealth refused the disclosure the letter: - Section 27(1)(a) on the grounds that the letters release would be prejudicial to relations between the UK and any other state - Section 31(1)(c) on the grounds that the letters release would, or would like to, prejudice the administration of justice - Section 40(2) on the grounds it included personal data

Section 41(1) on the grounds that its release would constitute an actionable breach of confidence.

The review has been complicated by the fact that, since your original enquiry, James Ibori has been tried and convicted in the UK. However, I have reviewed whether these exemptions are correct as of this date as well as investigating whether the exemption applied in June 2010. I am not content that exemptions 40(2) and 41(1) were correctly applied in June 2010 nor are they valid today. Section 31(1)(c) may have been correctly applied but it is no longer relevant today. I have also concluded that, whilst a partial redaction of the letter is valid under Section 27(1)(a) both today and in June 2010, the full redaction in June 2010 was not. Exemptions under Section 27 must be considered for where the balance of the public interest in disclosure lies. I acknowledge the public interest in this issue and that disclosure of the letter would enhance public understanding of the UKs relationship with Nigeria. However, after careful consideration, I have concluded that the disclosure of certain parts of the letter could compromise the UKs interests abroad by damaging the trust upheld in our bilateral relationship with Nigeria. The withheld information includes sensitive opinions expressed by a senior Nigerian political figure. Trust is essential in our bilateral relationship as it allows for the free and frank exchange of information on the understanding that it will be treated in confidence. If the United Kingdom does not maintain this trust and confidence, its ability to protect and promote UK interests in Nigeria will be hampered. For this reason, I judge the public interest in withholding this information is greater than the public interest in disclosing.

Your specific queries Therefore after careful consideration of the original handling of the request and on the basis of the findings above, the internal review has partially overturned the original decision. I enclose a redacted version of the letter that you requested. I hope you are satisfied with the process of this review and the outcome. However, if you feel we have not handled your internal review correctly and you wish to make a complaint, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF We continually strive to improve our service, so we would welcome your feedback and comments. If you would like to provide feedback on our service, please email our Information Rights Team, again at: dp-foi.img@fco.gov.uk You can also find out more about the FCO and freedom of information issues at our Access to Information website: http://foi.fco.gov.uk/en. In keeping with the spirit and effect of the Freedom of Information Act, all information is assumed to be releasable to the public unless it is exempt. The information we have supplied to you may now be published on our website together with any related information that will provide a key to its wider context.

Yours sincerely, Jonathan Drew Jonathan Drew Deputy Head Africa Department- East and West

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