The Scottish Parliament: - News - Scottish Parliament spokesperson statement in response to today’s decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner

Scottish Parliament spokesperson statement in response to today’s decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: "As far as the Parliament is concerned, this matter raised wider issues than simply Mr McLetchie's taxi receipts. The primary concern was to balance personal safety against the legitimate public interest.

"It is entirely proper that the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body should raise and continue to raise concerns over the release of information when it relates to personal data and safety issues because of the very public role that MSPs serve.

"There have been a number of incidents since the Parliament was established of MSPs receiving personal threats. It is also noted that Mr McLetchie is one of the highest profile politicians in Scotland .

"However the Scottish Information Commissioner commented that: 'I am not satisfied that the release of the information would endanger Mr McLetchie in any way'.

"That being the case, the SPCB will obviously move quickly to process and release the information.

"However, the potential danger to Members has been recognised by the Commissioner who has made it clear that his judgment rests with this particular case as he concludes that it was '...entirely possible, and indeed likely, that if another request were to be made in relation to an MSP for whom the SPCB demonstrated a specific reason to believe that they would be put at risk' that he would find the information should not be released.

"With this in mind, the Commissioner's conclusion that each case must be considered on its own merits is entirely consistent with the SPCB approach to assess carefully the safety implications for a Member arising from the release of information.

"The SPCB will therefore continue to approach with caution and give careful consideration to all requests that may have personal data and safety issues not only for Members but the constituents with whom they meet and represent."

The Scottish Information Commissioner’s Decision 033/2005 in relation to David McLetchie MSP’s travelling claims since 1999 can be found at:

For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 348 5000 or 0845 278 1999 (local call rate)
Text phone: 0131 348 3415 RNID Typetalk calls welcome
email: sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk

Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk