Dear Welsh Government,

The First Minister, Mr Carwyn Jones, appointed a Cardiff barrister, Mr Nicholas David Jones, as independent investigator of the Robert Powell Investigation.

This request has been made necessary because the Welsh Assembly Government has failed to comply with a similar Freedom of Information request made by the office of the Leader of the Conservatives in Wales on the 9th November 2012.

I am formally requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

1. Has the First Minister had any professional and/or personal association with Mr Nicholas David Jones either before his appointment as independent investigator or subsequent to his appointment?

2. If so, please list all associations identified?

3. Prior to and following Mr Nicholas David Jones's appointment, as independent investigator of the Robert Powell Investigation, has Mr Nicholas David Jones had any professional association with the Welsh Assembly Government and/or the National Assembly for Wales?

4. If so, please list all associations identified?

5. What remuneration did Mr Nicholas David Jones receive for the services he provided regarding the Robert Powell Investigation?

6. What was the total cost of Mr Nicholas David Jones’s investigation into the Robert Powell case?

Yours faithfully,

Will Powell

Mr Martin Bell
Freedom of Information Officer
Welsh Government

Dear Bell,

Thank you for your response of yesterday’s date.

However, I do not accept that the same request has already been fully answered regarding another individual's FOI request although some of my questions have been.

I have formally requested that you list any associations between the First Minister and Mr Nicholas David Jones either before or after Mr Nicholas David Jones was formally appointed as ‘independent investigator’ of the Robert Powell Investigation.

It has come to my attention that the First Minister, Mr Carwyn Jones, was previously Counsel General for the Welsh Government from July 2007 onwards and that Mr Nicholas David Jones was his Junior Counsel whilst acting in that capacity. It has also come to my attention that Mr Nicholas David Jones is currently Junior Counsel for the Welsh Government’s 'Personal Injuries Panel'. If these associations are refuted then please do so in writing.

I am formally requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

1. Has the First Minister had any professional association with Mr Nicholas David Jones either before his appointment as independent investigator of the Robert Powell Investigation or subsequent to his appointment?

2. If so, please list all associations identified?

3. Prior to and following Mr Nicholas David Jones's appointment, as independent investigator of the Robert Powell Investigation, has Mr Nicholas David Jones had any professional association with the Welsh Assembly Government and/or the National Assembly for Wales?

4. If so, please list all associations identified?

Yours sincerely,

Will Powell

Ms Rhian Williams
Legal Services Division
Welsh Assembly Government

Dear Ms Williams,

Thank you for your letter of the 25th January 2013.

You have repeated the four questions regarding my FOI request of the 9th January 2013 verbatim and requested that I inform you only if your interpretation of them is not accurate. I believe, as do others that I have asked, that my questions are self-explanatory. Furthermore, you have not provided me with your interpretation. I find this astonishing. It is even more astonishing when you consider that Mr Martin Bell, Freedom of Information Officer, for the Welsh Government, claimed in his response, dated 9th January 2013 that, “We have already answered the same request from another individual”, which confirms, in my view, that he personally understood my questions.

Please also note that, contrary to your understanding I am not “stating that whilst the First Minister was Counsel General, Mr Nicholas David Jones was Junior Counsel on the Welsh Government’s Panel of Counsel." I have no knowledge whatsoever of the Welsh Government’s Panel of Counsel and have made no reference to this in my FOI request.

I will repeat exactly what I stated for ease of reference:

“It has come to my attention that the First Minister, Mr Carwyn Jones, was previously Counsel General for the Welsh Government from July 2007 onwards and that Mr Nicholas David Jones was his Junior Counsel whilst acting in that capacity. It has also come to my attention that Mr Nicholas David Jones is currently Junior Counsel for the Welsh Government’s 'Personal Injuries Panel'. If these associations are refuted then please do so in writing.”

I have raised two completely separate matters in the above paragraph but apologise for not separating them, which may have caused the confusion. I have therefore separated them below and numbered them accordingly:

1. It has come to my attention that the First Minister, Mr Carwyn Jones, was previously Counsel General for the Welsh Government from July 2007 onwards and that Mr Nicholas David Jones was his Junior Counsel whilst acting in that capacity.

2. It has also come to my attention that Mr Nicholas David Jones is currently Junior Counsel for the Welsh Government’s 'Personal Injuries Panel'.

If these associations are refuted then please do so in writing.

For the avoidance of any further misunderstandings I am not stating that Mr Nicholas David Jones was Junior Counsel for Mr Carwyn Jones, in his previous capacity as Counsel General. I am exercising my right under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to seek confirmation as to whether there has been a professional association between the First Minister and Mr Nicholas David Jones.

The fact that the initial official response to my FOI request was the following, I became concerned that the true nature of the previous possible professional association between the First Minister and Mr Nicholas David Jones may have been intentionally suppressed.

“A. Did Mr N D Jones have any professional and/or personal association with the First Minister either before his appointment or subsequent to his appointment?

The First Minister and Mr N D Jones have similar legal professional backgrounds and may have come into contact in that context. They have no personal links.”

“B. Prior to and following Mr Nicholas David Jones's appointment, as independent investigator of the Robbie Powell case, has Mr N D Jones had any professional association with the Welsh Assembly Government and/or the National Assembly for Wales?

Mr Jones' professional association with the Welsh Government derives from his inclusion on the Welsh Government panel of counsel and he has previously been instructed on 3 personal injury related claims.”

I would be grateful for a substantive response, at your earliest convenience, as the initial FOI request for this information was made by the office of the Leader of the Conservatives in Wales, Mr Andrew Davies AM, on the 9th November 2012.

Yours sincerely,

Will Powell

Ms Rhian Williams
Legal Services Division
Welsh Assembly Government

Dear Ms Williams,

Thank you your letter of the 6th February 2013.

Would you unambiguously and in compliance with the law please answer the four specific FOI requests I have made, which I again list below for ease of reference and to avoid any further misunderstandings.

1. Has the First Minister had any professional association with Mr Nicholas David Jones either before his appointment as independent investigator of the Robert Powell Investigation or subsequent to his appointment?

2. If so, please list all associations identified?

3. Prior to and following Mr Nicholas David Jones's appointment, as independent investigator of the Robert Powell Investigation, has Mr Nicholas David Jones had any professional association with the Welsh Assembly Government and/or the National Assembly for Wales?

4. If so, please list all associations identified?

For your information please note that the following information is listed regarding the First Minister, Mr Carwyn Jones, on the Welsh Government’s official website:

“......from July 2007 was appointed Counsel General and Leader of the House.”

I accessed this information today, which you can access at:

http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/cabine...

Please also note that the following is listed on the personal profile of Mr Nicholas David Jones on the Civitas Law’s official website:

“Junior Counsel to the Counsel General of the Welsh Government. Appointed in 2000. Reappointed in 2003. Reappointed in 2009 (specialist field of Personal Injuries law).”

I accessed the information above today, which you can access at:

http://www.civitaslaw.com/members/nichol...

I also accessed the following today from the Civitas Law’s official website:

"Civitas Law most dominant set on Welsh Government Panel Counsel List Friday, September 28, 2012

Welsh Government Panel Counsel: Civitas Law appointments

Personal Injuries Panel

Junior Counsel A

• Nicholas David Jones"

I also accessed the above information today, which you can access at:

http://www.civitaslaw.com/news/2012/9/28...

NB: If it is not your intention to unambiguously answer the four specific questions above then I am formally requesting an internal review.

Yours sincerely,

Will Powell