Pro Palestine Protests at Goldsmiths College University of London

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.034304

I note you seek access to the following information:

At Goldsmiths collage University of London, there have so far been three pro-Palistine protests:

- 27 October - a march from the front of the RHB building to the back of the Whitehead Lecture Theater down Dixon Road
- 24 November
- Taking place tomorrow, the 29 November

Please can you inform us if:
1. You were notified about these protests or marches in advance
2. Who the organisers of the protests were
3. You made or attempted to make any arrests, fines or cautions in relation to any of these protests.
4. How many officers did you send to each protest?

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 40(2)(3) - Personal Information

Reason for decision

Within question 2 of your request you ask ‘Who the organisers of the protests were?’. This information is classed as third-party data and exempt from disclosure under the Freedomof Information Act (FoIA).

Section 40(2) (Personal Information) - In respect of this exemption, it is first most important I explain that a Freedom of Information Act request is not a private transaction. Both the request itself, and any information disclosed, are considered suitable for open publication. This is because, under Freedom of Information, any information disclosed is released into the wider public domain, effectively to the world and not just to one individual.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was been introduced across the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). In respect of the United Kingdom, GDPR was enshrined in UK law through the Data Protection Act 2018. The MPS, like all UK public authorities are obliged to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and this includes the protection of personal data.

Where an individual is requesting his or her own personal data the information is always exempt. Such information can be requested under other legislation (the Data Protection Act via a Subject Access Request).
Where an individual is requesting third party personal data the MPS must ensure that any action taken adheres to the principles of GDPR/ the Data Protection Act 2018. To clarify, the Freedom of Information Act only allows disclosure of personal data if that disclosure would be compliant with that law.

It is also legitimate for the MPS to consider the cumulative effect of disclosing information of a similar nature in respect of routinely disclosing personal staff names and email addresses under the Freedom of Information Act. The MPS need to very carefully consider the effect this has on staff as well as public perception in how it responsibly and sensitively handles personal data (in terms of continual disclosure over time under FOIA) in a public forum.

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), 3B of the Act.

There are six data protection principles that are set out in Section 34 of the Data Protection Act 2018. The first principle requires that the disclosure of the requested personal data must be lawful and fair. Under the Act, 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.

The requested records contain the following types of personal data that I consider exempt under the Act:

• The organisers of the protests

Having considered the release of the identified personal data, the MPS has found, having considered the legitimate interest test, that, that there is not a true public interest in disclosure of the personal information which makes up the recorded information held, the information requested is uniquely personal to an individual.

The disclosure of the requested information under FOIA legislation is not necessary to meet a legitimate interest, when concerns or correspondence can be sent to a member of staff from external staff through our ‘Contact Us’ page.

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.

Disclosure

Q1 - You were notified about these protests or marches in advance

We were not officially advised of any pre planned protest.

Q3 - You made or attempted to make any arrests, fines or cautions in relation to any of these protests.

There were no arrests, fines or cautions made with regards to any protests at Goldsmiths during the dates specified above.

It should be noted that we do not hold information on attempted arrests, fines or cautions.

Q4 - How many officers did you send to each protest?

On the 29 November 2023, 2 Sergeants and 12 Police Constable’s (PC) were tasked.