Paul Golding Arrest

The request was refused by Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

I am requesting all records held by the Police Service Northern Ireland relating to:
A) Paul Anthony Golding (aka Paul Golding) recent arrest, imprisonment and bail

Specifically:

B) all the records relating to Paul Anthony Golding (aka Paul Golding) arrest and bail on or about the 24-25 of October, 2018 for public order offences in Ballymena on 20 October (specifically, three counts of publishing written material intended to stir up hatred and one count of using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour) including, but NOT limited to: the actual charge sheet and any related documents, AND
C) All records related to his upcoming court appearance at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court on November 15 AND
D) All records relating to and including his bail conditions

I would like acknowledgment of this Freedom Of Information Act request. I request all documents and correspondence in PDF form. I also request that all fees be waved.

Data Protection does not apply as the subject has made his case (including his arrest, bail conditions, ect) public though his Instagram account (@officialpaulgolding) and the Britain First website. See “Paul Golding ARRESTED - but Ballymena Protest WILL Proceed” (https://www.britainfirst.org/paul_goldin...) The above link was posted on the Britain First website. Paul Anthony Golding (aka Paul Golding) is the leader of Britain First.

The subject also made his case public though his instagram account, by the username @officialpaulgolding. Please see profile page of this Instagram account. (https://www.instagram.com/officialpaulgo...)

See (https://instagram.com/p/BpVPEX9livU/) The above link description is: “[BREAKING] Tonight Paul has been arrested in Belfast, more updates shortly. Follow @officialpaulgolding” See (https://instagram.com/p/BpW54Grl8yr/) The above link description is: “UPDATE: Paul has been released, video update shortly. follow @officialpaulgolding” See (https://instagram.com/p/BpW9oTHFXli/) I will not put the above link description in this request, as it is easily accessible by clicking on the link.

The subject made his bail conditions public via See “SHOCKING: Statement regarding the ARREST of Paul Golding” (https://www.britainfirst.org/shocking_fu...) The above link was posted on Britan First website. Once Again, Paul Golding is the leader of Britain First. In the above post, the subject made his bail conditions public:

“Here are Paul's new bail conditions:
1. Must not be within 500 metres of any public parade, protest or demonstration in Northern Ireland
2. Must not enter the town of Ballymena
3. Must reside at [redacted] and at no other address
4. To sign bail at [redacted] police station on Tuesday and Thursdays at 3pm”

Also, any concerns regarding prejudicing the ongoing case are not relevant for two reasons. First, the story is already public, as shown and proven above, and by the following media stories:

“Britain First leader Paul Golding charged with offences linked to Co Antrim anti-immigration leaflets” - (https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfa...) this story was published by Belfast Live

“Britain First leader Paul Golding arrested in Belfast over Ballymena 'public order offences'” - (https://amp.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/...) This story was published by the Belfast telegraph digital

“Britain First leader Paul Golding charged after being arrested in Belfast” - (https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/no...) this story was published by Belfast telegraph Digital

Second, when applying a public interest test, the public right to transparency outweighs any alleged potential concerns in this case.

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

Police Service of Northern Ireland

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your enquiry.

For your correspondence to be treated as a valid request under the Freedom of Information Act, your full name is required.

The Information Commissioners guidance states "title and/or first name with surname satisfies the requirement for provision of a real name".

Please find below a link to the ICO Guidance on Section 8 entitled valid request - name and address for correspondence.

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

Unfortunately, I am unable to progress your request without this information.

Kind Regards

FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
Decision Maker
PSNI HQ
Brooklyn

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The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Police Service of Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Paul Golding Arrest'.

My FOIA is not being look at on the basis that I need to use a personal name, even though according to the Information commissioners Office, organizations can request FOIA’s under their own names. See Page 9, (https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...) “Requests from unincorporated bodies such as campaign groups or clubs are also valid and in most cases should be accepted at face value. However, if the authority has reason to check whether the organisation is authentic, it may need to take a more pragmatic approach to validating its identity because these bodies are often relatively informal associations of people with no ‘official’ status.” My organization is a genuine organization and therefore meets the bar under FOIA.

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

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

The Irish Conservatives left an annotation ()

I’m waiting for an internal review, if I do not get one, I am sending this to the ICO.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

Dear The Irish Conservatives,

Thank you for your email. As you have now confirmed that you are a genuine organisation, we are happy to process your request.

Please also note that Internal Reviews are not carried out until after a response has been issued. If on receipt of your response you are dissatisfied with any part of it and/or how it was dealt with, you are then entitled to request an Internal Review.

Kind Regards

Police Service of Northern Ireland

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Police Service of Northern Ireland

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

26th October 2018

Dear The Irish Conservatives,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated 26th October
2018 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
on 26th October 2018.  I note you seek access to the following
information:

Arrest & Bail of Paul Anthony Golding

This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I would like to advise you that PSNI are currently
experiencing a delay in the processing of requests and we aim to respond
to your request as soon as possible.

If your request is unclear and clarification is required the 20 day
legislative time limit dictated by the Freedom of Information Act 2000
will be stopped until we receive clarification of your request. The ICO
guidance at paragraph 40 of the link below sets out that the clock begins
anew the day after the clarification is received. It states

“If the requester subsequently provides enough detail to enable the
authority to identify and locate the information, then the authority must
respond to the clarified request within a new 20 working day time limit
with the ‘clock’ starting the day after it receives the required
clarification. “

The link for this is:

[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

In the event where the cost of complying with the request would exceed the
“appropriate level”, which is fixed at £450, as stated in the Freedom of
Information Regulations 2004, it is the policy of the PSNI to close the
request. You will however be notified of this decision and given an
opportunity to refine and resubmit the request.

If your request requires either full or partial transference to another
public authority in order to answer your query, again, you will be
notified.

If you have any queries regarding your request please write or contact the
Freedom of Information Team on 028 9070 0164. Please remember to quote the
reference number listed above in any future communications with the
Freedom of Information Team.

If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you
have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as
possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this
letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can
do so by writing to the Head of Freedom of Information, PSNI Headquarters,
65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing [email address]. 

If following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision
maker, you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the
request you may make a complaint, under Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act, to the Information Commissioner’s Office and ask that
they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act.  You can write to the Information Commissioner
at Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information
Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review
procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to
investigate the matter at his discretion.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Decision Maker
FOI Unit
PSNI HQ Brooklyn

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References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

FOI-2018-02652

By law, I believe the Police Service of Northern Ireland should have normally responded promptly to my request under Section 10 of the freedom of information act, I have not even received an acknowledgment or response yet, the authority has 20 working days, see Time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (Section 10) (https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...)

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

FOI-2018-02652

Correction, I have received a acknowledgement, but not a full reply as is required by section 10 of the freedom of information act. See Time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (Section 10) (https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...)

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

Police Service of Northern Ireland

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

The Irish Conservatives

In reply to your email 30 November 2018, The PSNI Corporate Information Branch are currently experiencing a high volume of requests which are causing a delay in issuing responses.

We can assure you that we are endeavouring to expedite your request as quickly as possible; however, we cannot offer a specific time-scale.

Please accept our apologies for the delay. We appreciate your patience.

Corporate Information Branch
Decision Maker

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The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Police Service of Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Paul Golding Arrest'.

FOI-2018-02652

I have received a acknowledgement, but not a full reply as is required by section 10 of the freedom of information act. See Time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (Section 10) (https://ico.org.uk/media/1165/time-for-c...)

The response to my request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, the PSNI should have responded by now.

I would like to know why my request has taken this long, and when it will be completed?

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

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

Police Service of Northern Ireland

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

Dear Sir or Madam,

Unfortunately, the PSNI is experiencing a significant delay in processing both Freedom of Information and Data Protection requests and we are advising requesters of this delay in our initial acknowledgement email.

The Freedom of Information and Data Protection Unit is dealing with a high volume of requests and reduced staffing levels which has impacted on our ability to issue responses within the legislative time-frame. I can assure you that all our requests are being progressed as quickly as possible and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this has caused you.

If you remain dissatisfied with our delay in processing your request, you are entitled to complain to the Information Commissioner's office whose contact details are:

Information Commissioner's Office
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tele: 028 909278757
Email: [email address]

Regards,

Sharon
Corporate Information Unit

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The Irish Conservatives left an annotation ()

This case has been sent to the ICO.

The Irish Conservatives left an annotation ()

The ICO has just sent me an acknowledgment and a reference number for my complaint, and has Passed my complaint on to the freedom of information complaint handling team, although my case has not been assigned to a case officer yet. I will add a note to acknowledge when a case officer gets assigned to me, but I will NOT name them for privacy reasons.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

Subject:        FOI-2018-02652
17^th January, 2019

Dear Sirs,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated 26th October
2018 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 26th
October 2018 concerning:

Arrest & Bail of Paul Anthony Golding

Please find attached response to your request.

Yours sincerely,

 

FOI Decision Maker
FOI Unit
PSNI HQ Brooklyn

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The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Police Service of Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Paul Golding Arrest'.

Paul Golding’s arrest is already in the public domain.

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

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

The Irish Conservatives

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Police Service of Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Paul Golding Arrest'.

FOI-2018-02652

Paul Golding arrest is already in the public domain by both himself on social media, and the media in general.

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

Yours faithfully,

The Irish Conservatives

Police Service of Northern Ireland

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

Subject: FOI-2018-02652
6th February 2019

Dear The Irish Conservatives,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated  requesting that Police
Service of Northern Ireland review its response to your request for
information concerning:

Arrest & Bail of Paul Anthony Golding

An internal review will be conducted in accordance with Police Service of
Northern Ireland's review procedure.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 an independent
decision maker will carry out a review of this case and advise you in
writing of the outcome.

If you wish to discuss this matter prior to receiving a response please
contact me on 028 9070 0164.  Please remember to quote the reference
number above in any future communications.

If following an internal review you were to remain dissatisfied in any way
with the handling of the request you may make a complaint to the
Information Commissioner’s Office and ask that they investigate whether
the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. 
You can write to the Information Commissioner at Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. In most circumstances the Information Commissioner will not
investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been
carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to investigate the
matter at his discretion.

 

Yours sincerely

Jane
FOI Decision Maker
FOI Unit
PSNI HQ Brooklyn

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Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

Subject: FOI-2018-02652
25th February 2019

Dear The Irish Conservatives,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

Following your request for us to review our previous response in
connection with your request concerning:

Arrest & Bail of Paul Anthony Golding

I can advise you that Police Service of Northern Ireland has now completed
its review - please see attachment.

Yours sincerely,

Ms Morris
Corporate Information

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