Dear Sir or Madam,

Please provide a copy of the Royal Mail's policy(s), or relevant
documents, describing any activities the Royal Mail undertakes to
monitor mail destined to a specific UK individual or address.

This is to encompass such documents, policies or guidelines which
cover:

i) Any record keeping by the Royal Mail of what items a
person/address receives, and the manner of such record keeping.

ii) Any deliberate opening of letters or packages by Royal Mail
before delivery to person/address with a means to determine or
monitor its contents. If the Royal Mail has means to determine the
contents or writings of a letter without opening the physical
envelope this is to be deemed to be included as well.

iii) If the Royal Mail does have such powers under (i) or (ii)
above to monitor or inspect mail destined to a specific individual
or address, who can authorise such activities and what safeguards
are in place to protect the rights of the public.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Maxwell

Dear Mr Maxwell,

Thank you for your request for information received on [Date], which we are
considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act you can
expect to here from us by 04th September 2009

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will write to you again explaining the reasons for this and
giving a revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions regarding this or would like to
contact us about your request, please write to me or telephone 01252
806513. Please be assured that we are giving this our attention and will
get back to you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Roger Mence
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

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Dear Mr Maxwell

I am writing in response to your email dated 06 August 2008. You requested
a copy of Royal Mail's policy or any relevant documents regarding the
monitoring of mail addressed to a specific individual or address in the
United Kingdom.

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request. This
information is believed to be exempt from disclosure under sections 24(1)
(national security) and 31(1) (law enforcement) of the Freedom of
Information Act. Our Security Department have confirmed that releasing this
information into the public domain would prejudice security. To give a
statement of the further reasons why the exemptions apply would involve the
disclosure of information that is itself exempt, as provided for by s17(4)
of the act.

Where s24(1) and s31(1) are engaged, we have determined that in all the
circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

I'm sorry that your request cannot be met on this occasion. If you have any
further information needs in the future then please contact me. If for any
reason you are not satisfied with this reply, you do have a right to
request an internal review of the way in which your request has been
answered. If you wish to do so, please write to the Head of Information
Compliance at: Company Secretary's Office, 5th Floor, 148 Old Street,
London, EC1V 9 HQ.

If, having requested an internal review, you are still not satisfied with
our response you also have a right to appeal to the Information
Commissioner who may be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

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