FOI 637/25

REQUEST

I am requesting information regarding Operation Notarise in 2014, specifically the names of the individuals arrested, and the names of the towns/villages they were arrested in at the time of Operation Notarise.

RESPONSE

Your request for information has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.  

The exemption that applies is S40(2) – Personal information.

Section 40(2) is an absolute class-based exemption and therefore the authority is not required to consider the public interest in disclosure.

The Data Protection Act covers processing of personal data about a living individual.  Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be identified-

1. from those data, or
2. from those data and other information, which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual.

Information will “relate to” a person if it is about them, linked to them, has some biographical significance for them, is used to inform decisions affecting them, has them as its main focus or impacts on them in any way.

If we disclosed these details, this would provide significant detail which could identify an individual and would breach the first principle of the Data Protection Act 2018.

In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a refusal notice for this part of your request.