Mika Minio-Paluello

By email: mailto:[FOI #5157 email]

13 July 2009

Dear Mika,

Your Freedom Of Information Request: 0478-09

Thank you for your request for information which we received on 16 June 2009. I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does hold information falling within the terms of your request.

The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly and in any case no later than 20 working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to the information and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for response to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be provided within such time as is reasonable in all circumstances of the case. We do, of course, aim to make all decisions within 20 working days, including in cases where we need to consider where the public interest lies in respect of a request for exempt information. In this case, however, we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies.

In your case we estimate that it will take an additional 20 days to take a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 10 August 2009. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, we will keep you informed.

The specific exemption which applies in relation to your request is: Section 27 International Relations.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to The Information Rights Team. Please note any request for an internal review must be submitted within 40 working days from the date our response was issued.

If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by The Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Please contact me if you have any queries about this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Declan Byrne

Libya Desk Officer

Middle East & North Africa Directorate

King Charles Street

London SW1A 2AH

www.fco.gov.uk