British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 B6 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP
Telephone 020 8008 2882 Email xxx@xxx.xx.xx
Information Policy & Compliance
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
Dominik Schade
e-mail:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
31 July 2017
Dear Mr Schade,
Freedom of Information Request - RFI20170968 Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) dated 3 July, seeking the
following information:
‘Please provide me with the following information electronically about Ken MacQuarrie’s investigation into
the Jeremy Clarkson punching incident:
-
The composition of the inquiry panel
-
The letter(s) sent to witnesses
-
Transcripts or notes of hearings
-
The report
Section 40(2)
We are withholding information relating to the Jeremy Clarkson investigation under section 40(2)
(personal information) of the Act. Under section 40(2) of the Act, personal information about
identifiable living individuals is exempt if disclosure to a third party would breach one or more
principles in the Data Protection Act 1998. The individuals concerned would not expect their
personal data to be disclosed to a third party. To do so would be unfair; therefore, disclosure
would breach the First Data Protection Principle (fair and lawful processing).
Section 42
In addition, we are withholding some information where we consider it is exempt from disclosure
under section 42 of the Act as legal professional privilege (LPP) applies.
The information which has been withheld under section 42 comprises of legal advice and
documents created by the BBC Legal Department for the purposes of providing legal advice.
This exemption protects communications between lawyers and their clients for the purposes of
obtaining legal advice, or documents created by or for lawyers for the purposes of litigation.
As section 42 is a qualified exemption, the BBC is required under section 2(2) of the Act to assess
whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosing the information.
There is a public interest in demonstrating the way in which the BBC considers and responds to
requests for information under the Act. However, there is also a strong public interest in
maintaining the principle of legal professional privilege and in safeguarding openness in all
communications between client and lawyer to ensure access to full and frank legal advice; this in
turn is fundamental to the administration of justice.
The Information Tribunal recognised this in Bel amy v Information Commissioner (EA/2005/0023;
4 April 2006), where it said: “there is a strong element of public interest inbuilt into the privilege
itself. At least equally strong countervailing considerations would need to be adduced to override
that inbuilt public interest”. Further guidance from the Ministry of Justice also states that “given
the very substantial public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of LPP (legal professional
privilege) material, it is likely to be only in exceptional circumstances that it will give way to the
public interest in disclosure.”
In light of the above, the BBC considers that the public interest in withholding the information
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information you have requested.
However, you may be interested in the following statement that the BBC Director General Tony Hal
made with regards to his decision not to renew the contract of Jeremy Clarkson:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/jeremy-clarkson-dg-statement and a summary of the
investigation of the report conducted by Mr McQuarrie:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/investigation-summary.pdf
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied that we have complied with the Act in responding to your request, you have the
right to an internal review by a BBC senior manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address
above, explaining what you would like us to review and including your reference number. If you are not
satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. The contact details are:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303
123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate) or see
http://www.ico.gov.uk/. Yours sincerely
Information Rights