Murder of Naziat Khan in August 2001

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023290

I note you seek access to the following information:

Naziat Khan (also known as Naziat Zafar), age 35/38 years, was allegedly killed by her husband Zafar Iqbal on 20 August 2001 at her residence 110 Windermere Road, Streatham, SW16, as per witness statements of two of their daughters. Subsequently, Zafar Iqbal, fled UK and was extradited in September 2021 from Pakistan to stand trial on the charges at Old Bailey, London, in December 2022.

INFORMATION REQUIRED:
- No. and nature of police complaints made against Zafar Iqbal by various individuals, including his wife Naziat Khan.

- Between 1999 and 2001, Naziat Khan made a series of police complaints of harassment, intimidation, threats, and physical violence against Zafar Iqbal. What preventive / protective action did local police station made to ensure / acknowledge safety of Naziat Khan and her children, their person and property? What was the SOP for domestic disputes, especially in South Asian-descent communities, in 2001? What is it now?

- Statistics on nationwide violence against women including murder 2001-2021. What is the %age of South Asian women (especially British-Pakistani) in VAW, including murder? How many of such women are going through a divorce? How many cases are pending / under-investigation or solved? Conviction rate?

- Statistics on London-based violence against women including murder 2001-2021. What is the %age of South Asian women (especially British-Pakistani) in VAW, including murder? How many are Pakistani-British? How many of such women are going through a divorce? How many cases are pending / under-investigation or solved? Conviction rate?

- Statistics on Streatham / Norbury-based violence against women including murder 2001-2021. What is the %age of South Asian women (especially British-Pakistani) in VAW, including murder? How many of such women are going through a divorce? How many cases are pending / under-investigation or solved? Conviction rate?

- The exact address or location of the crime: In various investigative reports, the address where the murder took place is given as 110 Windermere Road, SW16 (without corresponding code e.g. 5HE, 5HG, etc.).
a) Kindly confirm that the street '110 Windermere Road' is the one sandwiched between B272 and Stanford Road;
b) Kindly confirm the house number and post code (necessary to grab footage of the street and exterior of the house)

- Image of Zafar Iqbal's portfolio on Most Wanted List. Exact date when Zafar Iqbal taken off the MWL?

- Exact age of Naziat Khan and Zafar Iqbal at the time of murder.

- Challenges of policing or enforcing law on people from South Asian background.

- Short Interview with Mr. Gary Richardson, DCI Homicide (of both Earlsfield and Sutton (from 2001-04), on general murder investigations and his memorable cases; the challenges of working with South Asian-descent communities (he will not be asked about this case);

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 30(1)(a)(i) – Investigations and proceedings conducted by the public authority
Section 40(2)&(3) – Personal Information

Reason for decision

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) provides the right to request ‘recorded information’ that is held by public authorities. When a request for information is made under the Act, a public authority must inform you, when permitted, whether the information requested is held. It must then communicate that information to you. If a public authority decides that it cannot comply with all or part of a request, it must cite the appropriate section or exemption of the Act and provide you with an explanation.

Information relating to this police investigation:
I am afraid that I am not required by statute to release the information relating to this specific case by virtue of Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), governing personal information and Section 30 FOIA governing Investigations.

Section 40(2)&(3) - Personal Information - Section 40(2)(a)(b) of the Act provides that any information to which a request for information relates, is exempt information if the first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) is satisfied. The first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) states that personal information is exempt if its disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. If the disclosure of the requested personal data would not contravene the data protection principles, the disclosure must also not contravene Sections 3A(b) and 3B of the Act.

There are six principles that are set out in Article 5(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that dictate when the processing of personal data is lawful. The first principle requires that any processing of personal data must be lawful, fair and transparent. Under Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, the disclosure of personal data is considered to be lawful if:

a. There is a legitimate interest in the disclosure of that personal data.
b. The disclosure of the personal data is necessary to meet that legitimate interest.
c. The disclosure would not cause unwarranted harm to the data subject.
Having considered the release of information relating to Zafar Iqbal I have found, having considered the legitimate interest test, that:
a) The disclosure of this information would not satisfy an identifiable legitimate interest.
b) As there is no legitimate interest identified at point a I do not find there is a need for disclosure.
c) Furthermore, release of the detailed information would be likely to lead to unwanted and unsolicited intrusion.
The provision to refuse access to information under Section 40(2)(a)(b) and (3A)(a) of the Act is both absolute and class based. When this exemption is claimed, it is accepted that harm would result from disclosure. There is accordingly no requirement to demonstrate what that harm may be in refusing access to information.

Section 30(1)(a)(i) - Investigations and Proceedings Conducted by Public Authorities - Section 30(1)(a)(i) of the Act allows public authorities to withhold information if it has been held, at any time, for the purposes of an investigation conducted by that public authority with a view to it being ascertained whether a person should be charged with an offence.

Sections 30(1)(a)(i) of the Act is both a qualified and class based exemption. I am therefore required to consider whether the 'Public Interest' lies in disclosing or withholding the requested information. I have accordingly conducted a Public Interest Test to determine whether the release of the requested information is in the public interest. This exemption is also class based. I am therefore not required to demonstrate what harm would result from disclosure.

The MPS does not upon request, disclose the information relating to an on-going criminal investigation. To do so would make public, details of a police investigation that are of a sensitive/personal nature. Ultimately making this level of detail available to the public would be inappropriate as it is held exclusively for the purpose of a police investigation. Its public release would also be contrary to the general expectation/understanding that police investigations are confidential.

The MPS has a statutory role in establishing whether any person has committed a criminal offence. The release of police information that is held for the purpose of a criminal investigation, would be likely to have an adverse impact upon the ability of the MPS to conduct criminal investigations. This would occur as firstly, the investigation is still on-going. This is important as the sole reason that the MPS holds this information is for the purpose of a criminal investigation. Secondly the public release of information obtained and held for a criminal investigation would make it more difficult to obtain similar information in connection with future investigations.

This would occur because those involved directly or indirectly in police investigations, would not expect the MPS to make this type of information available under the
Freedom of Information Act. Over time, the perception that police investigative material and investigations are not confidential that would result from the release of information of this nature, would be likely to adversely affect the ability of the police to obtain information in connection with future investigations. This would be contrary to the public interest.

In assessing your request, I have also evaluated the harm that release of the requested information would be likely to cause. The requested information is of a sensitive/personal nature. Additionally the murder investigation of Naziat Khan is still on-going. The public release of the police information into the death of Naziat Khan would harm this investigation. This is important as the sole reason that the MPS holds this information is for the purpose of a criminal investigation.

Having carefully considered your request, I acknowledge the importance of transparency with the public. However, having considered each identified public interest factor, I have found that the harm that would be caused to this investigation should the MPS disclose the investigative material collated for this investigation, to be the most persuasive argument in this request. On balance, I believe that the public interest supports refusing your request. I have accordingly refused to provide the information located in response to your request for information.

Disclosure

Statistical Data:
As part of your FOI request you have requested statistical data as outlined below. Please note we can provide the data related to Violence against Women and Girls showing the number of victims, the ethnic breakdown, and the outcomes within the London area. We cannot show how many are undergoing a divorce and we do not hold convictions data. We can do the same for the following statistical questions, but are limited to the wards of Norbury Park, Norbury & Pollards Hill, Streatham Hill, Streatham South, and Streatham Wells.

Please see attached data.

Questions asking for statistical data:
- Statistics on nationwide violence against women including murder 2001-2021. What is the %age of South Asian women (especially British-Pakistani) in VAW, including murder? How many of such women are going through a divorce? How many cases are pending / under-investigation or solved? Conviction rate?

- Statistics on London-based violence against women including murder 2001-2021. What is the %age of South Asian women (especially British-Pakistani) in VAW, including murder? How many are Pakistani-British? How many of such women are going through a divorce? How many cases are pending / under-investigation or solved? Conviction rate?

- Statistics on Streatham / Norbury-based violence against women including murder 2001-2021. What is the %age of South Asian women (especially British-Pakistani) in VAW, including murder? How many of such women are going through a divorce? How many cases are pending / under-investigation or solved? Conviction rate?

Information not held:
You have requested information on the “What was the SOP for domestic disputes, especially in South Asian-descent communities, in 2001? What is it now?”

There is no SOPs dedicated just to the South Asian Descent communities.
We currently follow the College of Policing - Domestic AbuseAPP

You have requested information on the “Challenges of policing or enforcing law on people from South Asian background.” The MPS does not hold information relating to this question

You have finally asked for:

“Short Interview with Mr. Gary Richardson, DCI Homicide (of both Earlsfield and Sutton (from 2001-04), on general murder investigations and his memorable cases; the challenges of working with South Asian-descent communities (he will not be asked about this case)”

This is outside of the remit of the FOIA and therfore there is no requirement for the MPS to fulfill this request.