Mr Christopher McGinn

HMP Britain made this Freedom of Information request to Lothian and Borders Police

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From: HMP Britain

28 September 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

I read with interest the activities of Christopher McGinn-- a
former police officer recently found guilty of drug-related
offences.

I have a number of questions concerning his employment with
yourselves.

1. Information about how much money did he received (pay, pension
contributions etc) whilst suspended.

2. How long was he suspended for?

3. Information--perhaps from your PSD--about investigations into
possible corruption. Was his life as a drug dealer and police
officer completely firewalled? Are there details or allegations of
him misusing police information or police systems (PNC, CRIMINT,
etc).

Yours faithfully,

HMP Britain

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Lothian and Borders Police

5 October 2009

Dear Sir/Madam

Freedom of Information Request - Christopher McGinn

Thank you for your email dated 28th September 2009 regarding the above.

I have been asked to seek clarification of your name by the department working on this request. Section 8 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 requires that when making a request for information an applicant must provide his or her name, together with an address for correspondence. While the Scottish Information Commissioner deems that an e-mail address is sufficient for the purposes of the Act, he has issued guidance which states that an applicant must provide his or her own name when making a request. The reason for this is that any appeal to the Court of Session in Scotland in connection with a request must be made using the true name of the applicant and this must be the name used in the original request to the public authority.

I would be grateful if you could provide this information, and a response to your FOI will be completed in due course.

Kind Regards

Stephanie Laing
Force Information Unit
Lothian and Borders Police

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From: HMP Britain

7 November 2009

Dear Freedom of Information Team,

HMP Britain is a group of citizens who have organised themselves
into a corporate group. We believe pursuant to ICO guidance and
FOIA, our name constitutes a lawful named party. Please familiarise
yourself with the document 'Valid request – name and address for
correspondence' published in January of this year. I attach this
guidance to the bottom of this email.

Requesting information in this way avoids the accusation that we
are distributing FOIA requests between individuals to avoid paying
FOIA costs. You are also able to see who has made the request and
determine whether the level of requests we are making are excessive
and therefore potentially vexatious.

Yours sincerely,

HMP Britain

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...

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Lothian and Borders Police

11 November 2009

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your response, clarifying the stance you have taken and the reasons for this.

Unfortunately, the ICO guidance you have referred to does not apply within Scotland, as the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is enforced and promoted by the Scottish Information Commissioner, a separate body to its UK counterpart.

Under the Scottish legislation, which applies to freedom of information requests received by Lothian and Borders Police, the use of the party name of HMP Britain is not recognised. I would draw your attention to the recent cases of Glasgow and Dundee City Councils v The Scottish Information Commissioner where the Court of Session ruling raised the issue of who is an 'applicant' under the Freedom of Information Act in Scotland. The Judge, Lord Reed, concluded that the original requests for information were invalid in that the agent making the request did not disclose the name of all applicants, namely the second respondents.

Further information on this case can be accessed at:

http://foisa.blogspot.com/
http://www.dundas-wilson.com/publication...

As a result, and as explained in my initial email to you, we will require either one individual from HMP Britain to request the information, or to be provided with the names of all those who form your party, in order for your request to be valid and to be accepted.

I trust this explains the position.

Yours sincerely

Stephanie Laing
Force Information Unit
Lothian And Borders Police

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From: HMP Britain

11 November 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Many thanks for your detailed answer. I am happy for you to
reconsider my FOIA request under my legal name.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Dean
HMP Britain

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Lothian and Borders Police

13 November 2009

Dear Mr Dean

Thank you for your email. I would be grateful if you could also provide your first name, as both are required to identify a person in law.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Stephanie Laing
Force Information Unit
Lothian And Borders Police

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