Total Expenditure Incurred in Litigation in McDermott vs Sellafield
Dear Sellafield Limited,
Please provide the following information: -
1. The total mount of taxpayers' money you have spent with DLA Piper from the commencement of my whistleblowing claim up to 17 May 2023.
2. The total mount of taxpayers' money you have spent on Counsel's fees from the commencement of my whistleblowing claim up to 17 May 2023.
3. Please advise if any other invoices are outstanding when you provide your response.
4. Confirmation that the counsel, Deshpal Panesar, charged Sellafield up to £5,500 a day plus VAT for his services.
5. Please also advise if you incurred any other costs in relation to my claim, e.g. communication /PR/ any other external services.
6. Please confirm the names of the individuals who approved the expenditure of these costs and their seniority. If you are unwilling to provide the names please detail the roles/seniority of those who approved this expenditure. As a public body in receipt of public body, I believe that the public has the right to know this information.
Last time I asked you to detail the costs it was not clear to me if the information overlapped with previous data so it was confusing. For the avoidance of doubt, please provide the total figure of the money Sellafield has incurred on this litigation.
I ask you not to refer me back to the previous information you provided and ask me to work this out (the approach you insisted I did last time). I did not and do not find such an approach reasonable; it causes undue, unnecessary stress, when it is a simple matter for a company of your size with such extensive resources at its disposal to provide me with the total figure and thus remove any room for confusion or inaccuracies.
Regards
Alison McDermott
This email has been classified as OFFICIAL
Case ref: 2023-0238
Dear Ms McDermott,
I can confirm your request (Case ref: 2023-0238) for information regarding legal costs, has been received and will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries you may have via [Sellafield request email]
Please remember to quote the reference numbers above in any future communications.
Kind regards
Enquiries team
Sellafield Ltd
"The information contained in this email may be commercially and/or legally privileged. It is intended solely for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If you are not a named recipient, you are on notice of its status. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message from your system. You must not disclose it to any other person, copy or distribute it or use it for any purpose.
Views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of Sellafield Ltd.
Sellafield Ltd, a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority company, is registered in England and Wales, Company number 01002607. The registered office is situated at Hinton House, Birchwood Park Avenue, Risley, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6GR."
This email has been classified as OFFICIAL
Case ref: 2023-0238
Dear Ms McDermott,
Following your request (Case ref: 2023-0238) for information regarding litigation costs please see the answers to your questions below.
1. The total amount of taxpayers' money you have spent with DLA Piper from the commencement of my whistleblowing claim up to 17 May 2023.
£219,391.73
2. The total amount of taxpayers' money you have spent on Counsel's fees from the commencement of my whistleblowing claim up to 17 May 2023.
£153,534.96
3. Please advise if any other invoices are outstanding when you provide your response.
No
4. Confirmation that the counsel, Deshpal Panesar, charged Sellafield up to £5,500 a day plus VAT for his services.
Yes
5. Please also advise if you incurred any other costs in relation to my claim, e.g. communication /PR/ any other external services.
No
6. Please confirm the names of the individuals who approved the expenditure of these costs and their seniority. If you are unwilling to provide the names please detail the roles/seniority of those who approved this expenditure. As a public body in receipt of public body, I believe that the public has the right to know this information.
We are withholding this information and have applied s.40(2) Personal information exemption of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA), as the information relates to identifiable individuals to whom we have obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018. We believe that disclosure would risk us being in breach of these obligations and, as a result, the exemption on disclosure provided by Section 40(2) of the FoIA is engaged. The appropriate seniority of personnel approved the costs expenditure, in line with internal procedure.
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request Sellafield Ltd carry out an internal review (contact: [Sellafield request email]).
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
Sellafield Ltd
"The information contained in this email may be commercially and/or legally privileged. It is intended solely for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If you are not a named recipient, you are on notice of its status. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message from your system. You must not disclose it to any other person, copy or distribute it or use it for any purpose.
Views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of Sellafield Ltd.
Sellafield Ltd, a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority company, is registered in England and Wales, Company number 01002607. The registered office is situated at Hinton House, Birchwood Park Avenue, Risley, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6GR."
Dear FOI Enquiries (SL),
Thank you for your response. Please confirm if the figures you have quoted exclude VAT?
Regarding withholding the data regarding the personnel involved, I do not accept your response. A significant sum of public money was spent on this and the public has the right to know who approved this.
Without confirming names, please confirm the following: -
Were the Board and/or the Executive Team appraised of the amount of money you were spending on these legal costs?
Was BEIS appraised of the amount of money you were spending on legal costs?
PURSUING A WHISTLEBLOWER FOR COSTS
Separately, I also wish you to clarify who was appraised of the decision to pursue me for costs.
I know that the NDA confirmed to a journalist, David Hencke, that the Board of the NDA approved the decision to pursue me for £20,000 costs. Is this also the case with Sellafield when you also decided to pursue me for £40,000 of costs?
Did the Executive Team approve the decision to pursue me for costs? If not, who signed this off? And thirdly did BEIS approve the decision to pursue me for costs? Alternatively, was BEIS apprised of the decision to pursue me for costs?
Yours sincerely,
Alison McDermott
This email has been classified as OFFICIAL
Case ref: 2023-0238
Dear Ms McDermott,
Following your further questions (Case ref: 2023-0238) please see answers below.
Q1. Please confirm if the figures you have quoted exclude VAT?
A1. We confirm all figures are exclusive of VAT.
Q2. Were the Board and/or the Executive Team appraised of the amount of money you were spending on these legal costs?
A2. The Sellafield Ltd General Counsel, who is an adviser to the Board and member of the Sellafield Executive, was kept fully appraised of legal costs.
Q3. Was BEIS appraised of the amount of money you were spending on legal costs?
A.3 Yes
Q4. Separately, I also wish you to clarify who was appraised of the decision to pursue me for costs. I know that the NDA confirmed to a journalist, David Hencke, that the Board of the NDA approved the decision to pursue me for £20,000 costs. Is this also the case with Sellafield when you also decided to pursue me for £40,000 of costs?
A4. The Sellafield Ltd Board was apprised of the decision.
Q5. Did the Executive Team approve the decision to pursue me for costs? If not, who signed this off? And thirdly did BEIS approve the decision to pursue me for costs? Alternatively, was BEIS apprised of the decision to pursue me for costs?
A5. The Sellafield Ltd CEO approved the decision in respect of the cost application. BEIS were apprised of the decision.
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request Sellafield Ltd carry out an internal review (contact: [Sellafield request email]
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
Sellafield Ltd
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