Newsnight and Anti-Modi

Waiting for an internal review by British Broadcasting Corporation of their handling of this request.

Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

Newsnight
16th May 2014

I should be grateful if you can furnish me with your response to:

a. How many complaints have you had with regard to the Newsnight programme of 16th may 2014 in which there was a segment on PM Modi? Can I have a list?

b. How many of these complaints are from politicians and who?

c. Has the BBC conducted any type of internal investigation/review into the issue/s raised? If so can I have copies of the reports/reviews conducted.

Yours faithfully,

K Dudakia

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was received on 10 June 2014. We will deal with your request as promptly as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.

The reference number for your request is RFI20140911

Kind regards

The Information Policy & Compliance Team

BBC Freedom of Information
BC2B6, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP

www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]

Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398

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FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Please find attached the response to your request for information,
reference RFI20140911

 

 

Yours sincerely,

The Information Policy and Complaince Team

 

BBC Information Policy and Compliance

BC2B6, Broadcast Centre

201 Wood Lane

London W12 7TP, UK

 

Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi

Email: [2]mailto:[BBC request email]

Tel: 020 8008 2882

Fax: 020 8008 2398

 

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi
2. mailto:[BBC request email]

Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of British Broadcasting Corporation's handling of my FOI request 'Newsnight and Anti-Modi'.

I believe you have used the Act in an improper manner to hide basic facts that do not interfere in any way with privacy or confidentiality.

I am certain that the BBC has in the past disclosed similar facts/information that is related to journalism. Therefore to seek exemption from this simple request strikes of a cover-up.

It is in the interest of the BBC to take this seriously - otherwise it will go directly to the Government for their own investigations into this matter.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...

Yours faithfully,

K Dudakia

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you  for your email, in relation to your FOI request relating to Newsnight (Reference: RFI20140911). The information requested is excluded from the Act because it is held for the purposes of ‘journalism, art or literature.’  The BBC considers that the derogation protects the journalistic, artistic and literary integrity of the BBC by securing a creative and journalistic space for programme makers to produce material for broadcast free from interference by those who would seek to influence our output. 

As stated in our response to you, which I attach again for your reference; the BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the Act,  so you are therefore unable to appeal our decision using this process.  If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF telephone 01625 545 700. http://www.ico.gov.uK

The BBC's understanding of the scope of the derogation has been informed by numerous cases, including the recent consideration by the Supreme Court, in the case of Sugar (deceased) v British Broadcasting Corporation and another [2012] UKSC 4, of the Schedule 1 'derogation' for the public service broadcasters in relation to journalism.  Lord Phillips noted the BBC’s ‘important right to freedom of expression’ and the link between Schedule 1 of the Act and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
 
Additionally, as also recognised by the Supreme Court, it recognises that public service broadcasters caught by the Act (BBC, Channel 4, S4C, MG Alba) should not be placed at a disadvantage to their commercial competitors.   
 
In practical terms, the BBC has interpreted this to mean that we are not required to supply information held for the purposes of creating the BBC's output or information that supports or is closely associated with these activities.

You might find it useful to review the Decision Notices from the Information Commissioner, regarding the application of the derogation to information held by the BBC.  These Decision Notices can be found at the following URL: http://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resource... using the search function, if you select the BBC as the 'Authority' and FOI 1 as the 'Section' you will find a number of relevant Decision Notices. 

Kind Regards,

Information Policy and Compliance

BBC Information Policy and Compliance
BC2B6, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP, UK

Website: www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: mailto:[BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398

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Dear FOI Enquiries,

I reject your interpretation of the Act. I ask you one more time - before this matter goes further and I hold you directly responsible for ALL costs associated with my pursuit of truth and justice.

You have stated, 'The information requested is excluded from the Act because it is held for the purposes of ‘journalism, art or literature.’ The BBC considers that the derogation protects the journalistic, artistic and literary integrity of the BBC by securing a creative and journalistic space for programme makers to produce material for broadcast free from interference by those who would seek to influence our output.'

How can asking for number of complaints lodged against a programme........have anything to do with the above?

The information sought does not have any direct or indirect bearing on 'journalism, art or literature'.

Your interpretation of the Act is wilfully incorrect and I do ask that you reconsider your position promptly and respond with the data requested immediately.

Thank you

K Dudakia

Yours sincerely,

K Dudakia

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email, in relation to your FOI request relating to Newsnight (Reference: RFI20140911). The information requested is excluded from the Act because it is held for the purposes of ‘journalism, art or literature.’ The BBC considers that the derogation protects the journalistic, artistic and literary integrity of the BBC by securing a creative and journalistic space for programme makers to produce material for broadcast free from interference by those who would seek to influence our output.

As stated in our response to you, which I attach again for your reference; the BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the Act, so you are therefore unable to appeal our decision using this process. If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF telephone 01625 545 700. http://www.ico.gov.uK

The BBC's understanding of the scope of the derogation has been informed by numerous cases, including the recent consideration by the Supreme Court, in the case of Sugar (deceased) v British Broadcasting Corporation and another [2012] UKSC 4, of the Schedule 1 'derogation' for the public service broadcasters in relation to journalism. Lord Phillips noted the BBC’s ‘important right to freedom of expression’ and the link between Schedule 1 of the Act and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Additionally, as also recognised by the Supreme Court, it recognises that public service broadcasters caught by the Act (BBC, Channel 4, S4C, MG Alba) should not be placed at a disadvantage to their commercial competitors.

In practical terms, the BBC has interpreted this to mean that we are not required to supply information held for the purposes of creating the BBC's output or information that supports or is closely associated with these activities.

You might find it useful to review the Decision Notices from the Information Commissioner, regarding the application of the derogation to information held by the BBC. These Decision Notices can be found at the following URL: http://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resource... - using the search function, if you select the BBC as the 'Authority' and FOI 1 as the 'Section' you will find a number of relevant Decision Notices.

Kind Regards,

Information Policy and Compliance

BBC Information Policy and Compliance
BC2B6, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP, UK

Website: www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: mailto:[BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398

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Dear FOI Enquiries,

May I suggest very strongly....whoever is in charge - please read my reply to you and you will see that your response ignores what I am saying. Maybe you can try and get someone who understands basic English to read my request......and please respond to the substantive point I am raising.

So just to be clear - requesting data on number of complaints lodged against any particular programme...be it news or other.....does NOT interfere in anyway with the programming itself.

It is a request for data..........and as such....it is totally exempt from the Act that you keep referring to. This is my final attempt....after which I will exercise the full range of options available. I have already stated that ALL costs will be to your account.....and that means you are wilfully abusing the funds of the public.

Over to you....maybe this time someone with some commonsense can respond.

Thank you

Kapil Dudakia

Yours sincerely,

K Dudakia