Dear Sir or Madam,

The Independent reports [1] a Home Office spokesman as insisting
that "the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan had no bearing on the
level of the security threat in the UK or in the rest of Europe."

What is the basis for this claim? What evaluations have been
carried out into the impact of the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan on the terrorist threat to the UK?

Yours faithfully,

Laurence Rowe

[1]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cri...

Dear Sir or Madam,

I write to note that 20 working days have now passed since I wrote
regarding the Government's assessment of the impact of the
conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan on the terrorist threat to the
UK. I accordance with the guidelines at foi.gov.uk/yourRights, I
would be grateful if you could inform me as to when you will be
able to answer my request and why more time is required.

Yours sincerely,

Laurence Rowe

Dear J Fanshaw,

Thank your for replying to my email. I will resubmit the request in
part to the Foreign Office. However, I would still like to find out
from the Home Office what documents your spokesman relied on in his
statement to the Independent [1], that "the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan had no bearing on the level of the security threat in
the UK or in the rest of Europe," refuting the view of Europol,
that the "conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have a large impact on
the security environment of the EU." [2]

Please can you supply copies of any such documents, or references
to them if they are held by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and
you are unable to supply them directly.

Yours faithfully,

Laurence Rowe

[1] "Britain is focal point for terrorism, warns Europe's police
force", 18 May 2008,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cri...

[2] "EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report TE-SAT 2008",
http://www.europol.europa.eu/publication...

Text of your direct email for reference:

Direct Communications Unit 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF
Switchboard 020 7035 4848 Fax: 020 7035 4745 Textphone: 020 7035
4742 E-mail: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk Website:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk

<snip email> Mr Laurence Rowe <snip address>

Reference: T14357/8

Dear Mr Rowe,

Thank you for your e-mail of 24 June 2008 following up on your
earlier request of 18th May 2008. Unfortunately we do not appear to
have received the original request as no record can be found of it
on our information systems.

Should you wish to resubmit your original request, you may wish to
direct this to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as the
information you wish to acquire is held there rather than by the
Home Office. Their contact details are as follows:

Information Rights Team Information Management Group Foreign and
Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2PA Tel: +
44 (020) 7008 0123 Email: dp-foi.img@fco.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

J Fanshawe

Dear Mr Lawrence

Thank you for your e-mail dated 7 July 2008 in which you ask what
documents the Home Office spokesman relied on in his
statement to the Independent newspaper that "the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan had no bearing on the level of the security threat in the UK
or in the rest of Europe.

I regret that we are unable to send you a full response to your request
within 20 working days, as required by the Freedom of Information Act.
I would like to apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience that
this may cause. I would like to assure you that we are dealing with
your request as a matter of urgency, and that we will send you a full
reply as soon as possible.

If you have any queries about the handling of your information request
in the meantime then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Brain
Home Office
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

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Reference : T15363/8

Thank you for your e-mail enquiry of 07/07/2008 1:06:33 PM

A reply is attached.

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Dear Sir or Madam,

It appears that you have sent me the template rather than the
response, perhaps you need to save the document before sending it.

Yours sincerely,

Laurence Rowe

Text of your attached document:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx

Mr Lawrence Rowe

Reference: T15363/8

Dear Mr Rowe,

Thank you for your e-mail of 07/07/2008 1:06:33 PM about Name

Dear Sir or Madam,

Following my email on 7th July 2008 you appear to have suffered
from some technical difficulties, as the response reference
T15363/8 on 9th September contained no information. A further 20
days have now elapsed since my last email on 9th September pointing
this out, so I would be grateful if you would look into this as a
matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,

Laurence Rowe

Reference : T21930/8

Thank you for your e-mail enquiry of 07/10/2008 4:36:52 PM

A reply is attached.

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