EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Handling of Vexatious or Repetitive Requests
Overview The Commission is committed to and observes the Public Service values which include: objectivity; integrity; openness; transparency: maximising value for money and the nine Principles of Public Service. We will assist you with your requests for information and subject data requests in accordance with our duties and obligations, subject to exemptions which may apply and to certain limitations, in accordance with our policies under the Freedom of Information Act, and the Data Protection Act (which is to be published shortly).
Vexatious or Repeated Requests Requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act Whilst we are committed to providing you with information as stated above like other public bodies, we sometimes receive requests which, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office, can be deemed ‘vexatious’ or ‘repetitive’. Some of these kinds of requests can cost money for public bodies such as the Commission to handle, or responding to them may be an inappropriate use of staff time. We have, therefore, determined our approach to handling such requests. Where we receive requests for information, which we consider are vexatious or repetitive, we will follow the Guidance on Vexatious or Repeated Requests published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (see www.ico.gov.uk).
Other Requests Other requests to us may consist of complaints about our final decisions communicated to requesters on any of the following matters: applications for grants; applications for legal assistance; requests for enforcement action; or requests for changes to our policies. Such requests will be dealt with under the relevant Commission procedures relating to such matters. Where those procedures have been exhausted, continued requests received afterwards, which are deemed to be vexatious or repetitive, will also be dealt with in accordance with this policy. Format and Language This document is also available in Welsh. If you would like a copy in another language or format (such as braille, audio CD, large print or Easy Read) please contact one of our helplines. We also offer the Language Line translation service for callers to our helpline. We will take reasonable steps to accommodate access requirements brought to its attention by inquirers or requesters of information.
Return to Bomb Alley 1982 – The Falklands Deception, by Paul Cardin
I am writing to you not in the spirit of courtesy but of necessity. The EHRC exists to safeguard the rights of the people of this country under domestic law and the European Convention on Human Rights. Yet in practice, you have stood idle while one of the most basic rights — the right of access to information — has been systematically dismantled.
For the past decade, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), backed by the courts, has weaponised the so-called Dransfield precedent to label Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Subject Access Requests as “vexatious.” This has become a blanket tool to shut down scrutiny, to obstruct legitimate inquiries, and to silence whistleblowers. The misuse of FOIA section 14(1) and GDPR article 12(5)(b) is not an accident: it is deliberate, coordinated, and it amounts to a denial of:
Article 6 rights (a fair hearing)
Article 10 rights (freedom of expression and the right to receive and impart information)
I have lived this personally. My FOI requests — concerning public safety, accountability, and corruption — have been suppressed by this misuse. Hundreds of others have suffered the same treatment. The courts have closed ranks. The ICO has lied in writing. And meanwhile, the EHRC has done nothing.
You are not a spectator. You are the statutory body charged with defending human rights. Your silence has become complicity.
I therefore call on the EHRC to:
Announce an independent inquiry into the ICO’s misuse of FOIA s14(1) and GDPR art. 12(5)(b).
Confirm what steps you have taken, if any, to address the systemic denial of information rights.
Acknowledge publicly that these practices undermine Articles 6 and 10 of the ECHR.
If you continue to do nothing, then the public and the press will draw the obvious conclusion: the EHRC is not fit for purpose.
History will not look kindly on silence in the face of corruption. The people of this country deserve transparency and accountability, not another quango that shields wrongdoing.
Yours sincerely,
Alan M. Dransfield
FOI Campaigner & Human Rights Advocate
Alan M Dransfield
Return to Bomb Alley 1982 – The Falklands Deception, by Paul Cardin
Return to Bomb Alley 1982 – The Falklands Deception
From Paul Cardin, a Falklands Conflict veteran. This is a biting commentary, told from the heart. Also included is a 1982 diary, written on location. This book forms a forensic inquiry into several conflict-related mysteries that have never been addressed or resolved - even after 40 years.