Study on Iraq Invasion by Lt Gen Chris Brown

Dear Mr Bimmler

Your correspondence on 27 May 2010 has been considered to be a request for
information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. You
requested the following information:

I would like to request access to a study prepared by Lt Gen Chris Brown
and commissioned by the Ministry of Defence concerning the invasion of
Iraq.

I can confirm that the Ministry of Defence holds the requested
information. However, release of this information is to be withheld under
Section 36 of the FOI Act.

If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about
any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in
the first instance. If informal resolution is not possible and you are
still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review
by contacting the Head of Corporate Information, 6th Floor, MOD Main
Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail [1][email address]). Please note that
any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of
the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an
end.

If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your
complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section
50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information
Commissioner will not investigate your case until the MOD internal review
process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the
Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website,
[2]http://www.ico.gov.uk.

Robert Beevor

Sec Pol + Ops Delivery Unit-Business Manager

04-D-12

MOD Main Building

London SW1A 2HB

0207 218 0213

External E-mail: [3][email address]

References

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2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
http://www.ico.gov.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]

Mr Bimmler

Your original request has been received and has been allocated a
reference: 28-05-2010-110703-002. The Subject Matter Expert will be in
touch in due course.

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MOD FOI Helpdesk

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Dear Mr Bimmler,

Acknowledgement of your request for an Internal Review

The Head of Corporate Information acknowledges receipt of your
e-mail of 13 July 2010 in which you requested an independent
internal review of your request for information responded to under
the Freedom of Information Act by Sec Pol Ops.

Since 1 April 2010, the MOD’s internal target for completing
internal reviews is 20 working days. Your request for an internal
review was received here on 13 July 2010 and we therefore aim to
complete the review and respond to you by 9 August 2010. While we
are aiming to achieve this, in the interests of providing you with
a realistic indication of when you should expect a response, I
should advise that the majority are currently taking between 20 and
40 working days to complete. The review will involve a full,
independent, reconsideration of the handling of the case as well as
the final decision.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Internal Review Team

Dear Mr Bimmler,

Thank you for your email. I apologise for not updating you sooner on
progress with your internal review. The internal review is taking longer
than expected due to delays with the department involved. I will provide
you with a substantive response or update on progress with your review
by 6 September 2010.

Yours sincerely

FOI Internal Review Team

Ministry of Defence
Main Building 1.N.15 Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB
Email: [email address]

Dear MOD FOI Internal Reviews Team,

your target for responding to this Internal Review request was
August 9. Could you please update me on the status of the review
and the likely date of completion?

Yours sincerely,

Michael Bimmler

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Dear Mr Bimmler,

It is proving difficult to conduct a full internal review as the
substantive response to your request for information has not yet been
issued to you.

I should explain that the internal review process is aimed primarily at
reviewing MOD's substantive response to a request for information to
assess its compliance with the Act or EIR. In this situation the most
productive solution is to investigate the reasons why you have not yet
received a substantive response and to ensure that you are provided with
one as soon as possible. We have therefore asked the responding branch to
provide you with an update by Fri 17 September 2010 and we will also
continue to ensure that you are regularly informed of progress.

We can also assure you that once you have received the substantive
response, we will conduct an automatic full internal review at that stage,
which will include the handling of your request.

Regards

Usha

MOD FOI Internal Review Team

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Ms Usha Sondhi | CIO-CI-AccessReview2 | 01.N.16 MOD Main Building |
Whitehall | London SW1A 2HB

Dear Mr Bimmler,

I find that the initial response to you on 21 June 2010 was confusing. You
should have been informed that your request was being considered under the
relevant qualified exemption (section 36) and that additional time was
needed to conduct a Public Interest Test (PIT) in order to determine
whether the balance of the PIT lay in release. In addition, I am advised
that other exemptions may also apply to the information requested such as
section 26 (defence) and section 27 (international relations) which are
also subject to public interest testing.

I am sorry that you have not been previously advised of the full
situation. Therefore, I can inform you that a decision has not yet been
made about your request and you have therefore not received a substantive
response from MOD so far. I must apologise that the initial response gave
the impression that a decision had already been made about your request. I
have, therefore, asked the relevant MOD Business Unit to provide you with
an update by Friday 17 September 2010.

As I mentioned, once you have received a substantive response, we will
automaticaly review your request in full, if still required.

Regards

Usha

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Ms Usha Sondhi | CIO-CI-AccessReview2 | 01.N.16 MOD Main Building |
Whitehall | London SW1A 2HB

Dear Mr Bimmler

I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update to
your request (under the Freedom of Information Act 2000) for access to a
study prepared by Lt Gen Chris Brown and commissioned by the Ministry of
Defence concerning the invasion of Iraq.

Further to my previous e-mail below, I can confirm that the qualified
exemption Section 36(2)(b) applies to your request.

The information you have requested also falls within the scope of
qualified exemptions Section 26(defence) and Section 27 (International
Relations) of the FOI Act. These exemptions are subject to the
application of a balance of the public interest test and MOD has not yet
reached a decision in this case.

We consider that it will take a further 20 working days to respond to
your request. I will let you have a further update, if not the
substantive response by 15 Oct 2010. I apologise for the delay.

Robert Beevor
Sec Pol + Ops Delivery Unit-Business Manager
04-D-12
MOD Main Building
London SW1A 2HB
0207 218 0213
External E-mail: [email address]

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Dear Mr Bimmler

Further to my e-mail of 17 September, I would like to take this
opportunity to provide you with a further update to your request (under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000) for access to a study prepared by Lt
Gen Chris Brown and commissioned by the Ministry of Defence concerning the
invasion of Iraq.

The information you have requested also falls within the scope of
qualified exemption Section 36(2) (b).It also falls within the qualified
exemptions Section 26(defence) and Section 27 (International Relations) of
the FOI Act and these exemptions are subject to the application of a
balance of the public interest test and MOD has not yet reached a decision
in this case.

The points made in my e-mail of 17 September remain valid. However, we
consider that it will take a further 20 working days to respond to your
request. I will let you have a further update, if not the substantive
response by 12 November 2010. I apologise for the delay.

Robert Beevor

Sec Pol + Ops Delivery Unit-Business Manager

MOD Main Building

London SW1A 2HB

Dear Mr Bimmler

Further to my e-mail of 15 October, I would like to take this opportunity
to provide you with a further update to your request (under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000) for access to a study prepared by Lt Gen Chris Brown
and commissioned by the Ministry of Defence concerning the invasion of
Iraq.

The information you have requested also falls within the scope of
qualified exemption Section 36(2) (b).It also falls within the qualified
exemptions Section 26(defence) and Section 27 (International Relations) of
the FOI Act and these exemptions are subject to the application of a
balance of the public interest test and MOD has not yet reached a decision
in this case.

The points made in my e-mail of 17 September and 15 October remain valid.
However, we consider that it will take a further 20 working days to
respond to your request. I will let you have a further update, if not the
substantive response by 10 December 2010. I apologise for the delay.

Dear Mr Bimmler

Further to my e-mail of 12 November 2010, I would like to take this
opportunity to provide you with a further update to your request (under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000) for access to a study prepared by Lt
Gen Chris Brown and commissioned by the Ministry of Defence concerning the
invasion of Iraq.

The information you have requested falls within the scope of qualified
exemption Section 36(2) (b).It also falls within the qualified exemptions
Section 26(defence) and Section 27 (International Relations) of the FOI
Act and these exemptions are subject to the application of a balance of
the public interest test and MOD has not yet reached a decision in this
case.

The points made in my earlier e-mails of 17 September, 15 October and 12
November remain valid. However, we consider that it will take a further 20
working days to respond to your request. I will let you have a further
update, if not the substantive response by 13 January 2011. I apologise
for the delay

Dear Mr Bimmler

Apologies for the delay in providing you with an update on your request
(under the Freedom of Information Act 2000) for release of the study
prepared by Lt Gen Chris Brown and commissioned by the Ministry of Defence
concerning the invasion of Iraq.

Further to my e-mail of 10 December 2010, the information you have
requested falls within the scope of qualified exemption Section 36(2)
(b).It also falls within the qualified exemptions Section 26(defence) and
Section 27 (International Relations) of the FOI Act and these exemptions
are subject to the application of a balance of the public interest test
and MOD has not yet reached a decision in this case.

The points made in my earlier e-mails of 17 September, 15 October, 12
November and 10 Dec remain valid. However, we consider that it will take
a further 20 working days to respond to your request. I will let you have
a further update, if not the substantive response by 10 February 2011.

Mr Bimmler

PSA response to your FOI request for release of a study prepared by Lt
Gen Chris Brown and commissioned by the Ministry of Defence concerning
the invasion of Iraq.