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Tom Watson and the smear campaign
Mr Harding made this Freedom of Information request to Cabinet Office
The request was successful.
From: Mr Harding
11 April 2009
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please can you release all emails from and to Tom Watson in the
last three weeks that relate to the attempted smear campaign
against senior Conservative MPs
Yours faithfully,
Mr Harding
From: Mr Harding
15 April 2009
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please can I clarify the meaning of the phrase "smear campaign" to
mean:
"use of the Internet as a means of attacking the views, opinions or
policies of the opposition, or personal attacks on oppostion
members, or their relatives."
Yours sincerely,
Mr Harding
Mr Harding left an annotation (15 April 2009)
Macnamarasband left an annotation (14 April 2009)
words "relate to the attempted smear campaign
against senior Conservative MPs" seem a bit easy to wriggle out of- how about widening it to something like - "use of the internet as a means of promoting the governments position or attacking that of that of the opposition
Excellent point. I have clarified (post above). I felt the phrase "promoting the governments position" was a little bit vague. I can see the request being denied on cost grounds as they could (would?) argue that their entire job is to argue and promote the Governments Position!
Cabinet Office
16 April 2009
CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI264366
Dear Mr Harding,
Thank you for your request for information (attached). Your request was
received on 14/04/2009 and is being dealt with under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will
let you know the likely charges before proceeding.
Your sincerely,
FOI Team
Cabinet Office
E: [1][Cabinet Office request email]
The Cabinet Office computer systems may be monitored and communications
carried on them recorded to secure the effective operation of the system
and for other lawful purposes.
show quoted sections
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.
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1. mailto:[Cabinet Office request email]
From: Mr Harding
14 May 2009
Dear Sir or Madam,
On April 14th I made a Freedom of Information Act request, labelled
as FOI264366 by the Cabinet Office.
A response was due on May 13th but this has not been received. I am
therefore writing to prompt the Cabinet Office into responding.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Harding
From: Mr Harding
21 May 2009
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Cabinet Office's
handling of my FOI request 'Tom Watson and the smear campaign'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/to...
This request is now overdue by over a week and despite prompting,
no acknowledgement has been forthcoming.
I will therefore have no option but to consider involving the ICO
if the Cabinet Office do not respond to the request to the
information I have a legal right to.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Harding
Cabinet Office
3 June 2009
mrhardingrequest.pdf
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O Donnell to Maude 14 April 2009.pdf
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O Donnell to Maude 21 April 2009.pdf
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Please see attached response to your recent FOI request.
Paul Ballinger
Propriety and Ethics Team
Cabinet Office
Rm 118
70 Whitehall
London SW1A 2AS
email: [1][email address]
Making the Civil Service Work Better
The Cabinet Office computer systems may be monitored and communications
carried on them recorded to secure the effective operation of the system
and for other lawful purposes.
show quoted sections
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
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Macnamarasband left an annotation (14 April 2009)
against senior Conservative MPs" seem a bit easy to wriggle out of- how about widening it to something like - "use of the internet as a means of promoting the governments position or attacking that of that of the opposition
Link to this