Dear Post Office Limited,

I hope this email finds you well. I am requesting information according to Post Office Limited’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information that I request is as follows:

To the end of 2023, the full amount spent by Post Office Limited or its subsidiaries on legal services in relation to the faulty Horizon IT computer system, including but not limited to, the sub-postmasters’ Group Litigation, the three compensation schemes, and the Horizon IT Public Inquiry, but excluding any prosecutions brought by Post Office Limited.

The law firms and barristers the Post Office Limited or its subsidiaries have instructed in relation to the legal services provided at 1, and what each firm or barrister was paid.
I sincerely hope that you will be able to provide the information requested according to Post Office Limited’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and hope for a prompt response.

Yours faithfully,
Gabriel Kennedy

Dear [email address],

I was informed that I could expect a response on this request by 5 April after receiving a second extension request of 20 working days on 5 March.

It has now been seven working days since I was told I could expect a response. Does the Post Office have any updates on my request?

Thank you, I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Gabriel Kennedy

Dear Information Rights team,

I hope you're well. Tomorrow it will be a week since your last response to my request, and 12 working days since my request was due following two extensions to my initial due date. Could you please provide my requested information as a matter of urgency.

Paragraph 62 of the guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office on time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (section 10) states that "an authority should normally take no more than an additional 20 working days to consider the public interest, meaning that the total time spent dealing with the request should not exceed 40 working days." Under the ICO's guidance, any extension beyond this time should be exceptional, and "Public authorities will need to demonstrate that the length of any time extension is justified."

My request has now exceeded 72 working days, and is thus well over the ICO's requirements for normal extensions under the public interest. Would you please justify your exceptional delays to my request.

Further guidance from the ICO, on paragraph 64 of the same document dictates that "the authority should have identified the relevant exemptions and satisfied that they are applicable within the initial 20 working day time limit". Your responses thus far have also failed to identify and consistently apply the relevant exemptions within that limit.

In your initial response on 06 February you requested an extension with the view that my request fell within the scope of qualified exemption under section 42 of the FOIA, relating to professional legal privilege. However, in your second request on 05 March you requested another extension, this time within the scope of qualified exemption under section 43 of the FOIA, relating to commercial interest. As the identified exemption was changed after the initial 20 working day time limit, my understanding is that you have failed to comply with the ICO's guidance on extensions. Would you please justify these changes in line with the ICO's requirements.

To comply with those guidelines, I request that you provide my information promptly.

Thank you for your time, I hope to receive a prompt response.

Yours sincerely,

Gabriel Kennedy

Dear Post Office Limited,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Post Office Limited's handling of my FOI request 'Post Office Limited legal spending on sub-postmasters’ Group Litigation, remediation, and the Horizon IT Public Inquiry'.

Today marks 11 working days since your last response to my request, and 22 working days since my request was due following two extensions to my initial due date. I am dissatisfied by your responses to date and failure to address my concerns.

Paragraph 62 of the guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office on time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (section 10) states that "an authority should normally take no more than an additional 20 working days to consider the public interest, meaning that the total time spent dealing with the request should not exceed 40 working days." Under the ICO's guidance, any extension beyond this time should be exceptional, and "Public authorities will need to demonstrate that the length of any time extension is justified."

My request has now exceeded 84 working days, and is thus well over the ICO's requirements for normal extensions under the public interest. Would you please justify your exceptional delays to my request.

Further guidance from the ICO, on paragraph 64 of the same document dictates that "the authority should have identified the relevant exemptions and satisfied that they are applicable within the initial 20 working day time limit". Your responses thus far have also failed to identify and consistently apply the relevant exemptions within that limit.

In your initial response on 06 February you requested an extension with the view that my request fell within the scope of qualified exemption under section 42 of the FOIA, relating to professional legal privilege. However, in your second request on 05 March you requested another extension, this time within the scope of qualified exemption under section 43 of the FOIA, relating to commercial interest. As the identified exemption was changed after the initial 20 working day time limit, my understanding is that you have failed to comply with the ICO's guidance on extensions.

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

I kindly request that you conduct an internal review of your FOI process to address my concerns. If I remain dissatisfied by your response to my request for review, I will be filing a complaint with the Information Commissioner. Thank you, I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Gabriel Kennedy

Dear Information Rights Team,

I appreciate your apology and understand that the recent increase in responses presents challenges.

Nevertheless, the extent of this delay remains concerning. As I have detailed above the present delay is over double the amount of time that the ICO requires. Could you please provide a date at which you expect to be able to provide your response?

If you are unable to do so, and continue to inform me that my response will be ready "soon", as you have done since the beginning of April, I will unfortunately need to continue my request for an internal review.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Gabriel Kennedy

Dear Information Rights Team,

I am following up on my request for a date by which I can expect a response, sent on 8 May. I made this request in response to an apology for your delay which informed me that you "hope to be in a position to respond soon".

Ten working days have since passed since I requested an expected date for my information, to which you have not responded. I would like to reiterate my request for a date by which I can expect a response here.

If you are as yet unable to provide any indication of when I can expect a response to my request, which now exceeds 94 working days (54 days over the ICO's requirements for normal extensions under the public interest), please consider this message my formal request for an internal review of your handling of my FOI request 'Post Office Limited legal spending on sub-postmasters’ Group Litigation, remediation, and the Horizon IT Public Inquiry' and pass it onto the person who conducts these reviews.

My concerns are the same as detailed in my initial internal review request of 8 May, but I will reiterate them here.

Today marks 10 working days since your last response to my request, and 32 working days since my request was due following two extensions to my initial due date. I am dissatisfied by your responses to date and failure to address my concerns.

Paragraph 62 of the guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office on time limits for compliance under the Freedom of Information Act (section 10) states that "an authority should normally take no more than an additional 20 working days to consider the public interest, meaning that the total time spent dealing with the request should not exceed 40 working days." Under the ICO's guidance, any extension beyond this time should be exceptional, and "Public authorities will need to demonstrate that the length of any time extension is justified."

My request has now exceeded 94 working days, and is thus well over the ICO's requirements for normal extensions under the public interest. Would you please justify your exceptional delays to my request.

Further guidance from the ICO, on paragraph 64 of the same document dictates that "the authority should have identified the relevant exemptions and satisfied that they are applicable within the initial 20 working day time limit". Your responses thus far have also failed to identify and consistently apply the relevant exemptions within that limit.

In your initial response on 06 February you requested an extension with the view that my request fell within the scope of qualified exemption under section 42 of the FOIA, relating to professional legal privilege. However, in your second request on 05 March you requested another extension, this time within the scope of qualified exemption under section 43 of the FOIA, relating to commercial interest. As the identified exemption was changed after the initial 20 working day time limit, my understanding is that you have failed to comply with the ICO's guidance on extensions.

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

If you are unable to provide a date by which I can expect a response, I kindly request that you conduct an internal review of your FOI process to address my concerns. If I remain dissatisfied by your response to my request for review, I will be filing a complaint with the Information Commissioner. Thank you, I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Gabriel Kennedy