25 September 2009

(dat

Reference: 09/75

Dear Mr Reith

We wrote to you on 4 September with respect to your email of the 20 March in which you refined your request for information relating to the suspension of John Stalker and his removal from the Stalker Sampson inquiry. You requested “copies of correspondence, documents, memos etc held by the NIO in relation to the suspension of the former Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police John Stalker from duty in 1986 and his removal from the Stalker-Sampson inquiry in Northern Ireland that cover the period 1986-87.” We informed you that we have interpreted this as only covering material dated within that two year range. We also advised that the time limit for responding to the request needed to be extended. I am writing today to advise you that the time limit for responding needs to be further extended. I apologise for the ongoing delay in responding to your request. There is a large volume of complex material falling within the scope of your request and it is taking us some time to consider where the balance of public interest lies in terms of disclosure.

(insert date)

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) we are obliged to respond to your request within twenty working days. However where an authority has to consider the public interest under the Act, a short delay is permissible. The public interest test is the consideration by a public authority of whether the public interest in withholding information outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

We confirmed in our previous correspondence that the Northern Ireland Office does hold information relevant to your request, however we have determined that section 24 (national security); section 27 (international relations), section 31 (law enforcement) and section 36 (conduct of public affairs) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) are applicable to this information. When applying these exemptions there is a need to balance whether the public interest in withholding the information you have requested outweighs the public interest in release.

By virtue of section 10(3) of FOIA, when public authorities have to consider the balance of the public interest in relation to a request, they do not have to comply with the request until such time as is reasonable in the circumstances. We have not yet reached a decision on the balance of the public interest. We will endeavour to provide you with a substantive response within the next ten working days (09 October 2009) if not sooner. If this should not prove possible, we will inform you. May I apologise once again for the ongoing delay in responding to your request.

If you believe that our final reply is not in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you may ask for an internal review within two calendar months of the date of our final response. If you request a review you should do so in writing stating the reasons.

If following an internal review you were to remain dissatisfied you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner and ask him to investigate whether the NIO has complied with the terms of the FOIA. You can write to the Information Commissioner at:

The Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out.

Further details on the role of the Information Commissioner and the handling of appeals can be found at:

If you wish to discuss any of this please contact the Freedom of Information Team using the contact details provided at the top of the page. Please remember to quote your reference in any correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Manager

Freedom of Information Team

Northern Ireland Office

Freedom of Information Team

11 Millbank

London

SW1P 4PN

Telephone 020 7210 0840

Email: [NIO request email]