The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has been found in breach of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 after failing to provide a timely response to a request concerning a meeting between its Political Director and a former senior Israeli military official.
In a decision notice issued on 9 January 2026, the Information Commissioner concluded that the department had unlawfully exceeded the time allowed to consider the public interest test, contrary to **section 17(3) FOIA**.
The complainant sought detailed information about a meeting in 17 February 2025 between Dr Christian Turner, the FCDO’s Political Director, and Major General Tal Kalman, former Chief of Staff of the Israeli Air Force. The request, submitted on 13 August 2025, asked for:
- Confirmation of the meeting’s location
- Names and affiliations of attendees
- Minutes, notes, briefings, or summaries
- Related internal communications
- Any instructions on record‑keeping
- Any public‑facing statements or materials
On 11 September 2025, the FCDO informed the requester that it was extending the deadline to consider the public interest test.
ICO findings
While FOIA allows public authorities to extend the deadline when applying qualified exemptions, the Commissioner stressed that such extensions must be “reasonable”. The section 45 Code of Practice states that, in most cases, this should not exceed an additional 20 working days, meaning a total of 40 working days to respond.
The ICO found no “exceptional circumstances” justifying a longer delay and ruled that the FCDO had breached section 17(3) by failing to issue a substantive response within a reasonable timeframe.
The Commissioner ordered the FCDO to:
- Provide a full substantive response** to the FOI request
- Do so within 30 calendar days of the decision notice
Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner certifying the matter to the High Court, where it may be treated as **contempt of court**.
Both the complainant and the FCDO may appeal to the First‑tier Tribunal (Information Rights) within 28 days of the decision notice.
