Total Expenditure Incurred in Litigation in McDermott vs Sellafield

alison mcdermott made this Freedom of Information request to Sellafield Limited Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was partially successful.

alison mcdermott

Dear Sellafield Limited,

Please provide the following information.

1. The total mount of taxpayers' money you have spent with DLA Piper from May 2023 or the last date you last provided a figure to me.

2. The total mount of taxpayers' money you have spent on Counsel's fees from the same date, May 2023.

3. Please advise if any invoices are outstanding when you provide your response.

4. Please also advise if you incurred any other costs in relation to my claim, e.g. communication /PR/ any other external services.

5. Please also confirm why Sellafield is covering the legal costs of Heather Roberts (now Staughton) when she is no longer employed by the company.

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 that Sellafield has now spent/ incurred on this litigation to avoid any room for confusion or inaccuracies.

Regards

Alison McDermott

FOI Enquiries (SL), Sellafield Limited

This email has been classified as OFFICIAL

Case ref: 2024-0274

Dear Ms McDermott,

I can confirm that we have now received your request and will respond within the required timescales.

Kind regards

Enquiries Team
Sellafield Ltd

show quoted sections

alison mcdermott

Dear FOI Enquiries (SL),
Thank you. I appreciate your prompt confirmation.

Yours sincerely,

alison mcdermott

FOI Enquiries (SL), Sellafield Limited

This email has been classified as OFFICIAL

Case ref: 2024-0274

Dear Ms McDermott,

Following your request (Case ref: 2024-0274) for information regarding litigation costs. Please see answers below to your questions.

Q1. The total mount of taxpayers' money you have spent with DLA Piper from May 2023 or the last date you last provided a figure to me.

A1. Since May 2023 £8,598.57 (exclusive of VAT) has been spent with DLA Piper
Q2. The total mount of taxpayers' money you have spent on Counsel's fees from the same date, May 2023.

A2. Since May 2023 £6,000 (exclusive of VAT) has been spent on Counsel’s fees.

Note: For the avoidance of doubt the figures above in A1 and A2 are in addition to the figures provided in your previous request. (Case ref: 2023-0238)

Q3. Please advise if any invoices are outstanding when you provide your response.

A3.No invoices are outstanding.

Q4. Please also advise if you incurred any other costs in relation to my claim, e.g. communication /PR/ any other external services.

A4. No costs have been incurred.

Q5. Please also confirm why Sellafield is covering the legal costs of Heather Roberts (now Staughton) when she is no longer employed by the company.

A5. This is not a request for information held by Sellafield Ltd but rather a request for comment or opinion as to the motivation of the parties to litigation. As such we do not consider this to be a valid FOIA request. For your reference the right to request information only relates to recorded information that is held by a public authority.

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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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."