The MoD released annual reports from its internal watchdog, the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR), for ten years following a freedom of information challenge in 2010. Then in 2017 reports ceased, with DNSR claiming the reports had to be kept secret to protect national security.
Peter Burt, who filed the original Freedom of Information request is appealing for the entire report to be released, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is appealing that the entire report should be withheld, apart from two short excerpts, which they have released ahead of the hearing (attached below).
Below are the key documents from the Information Tribunal on the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator’s 2015/16 annual assurance report held in London 2nd and 3rd December 2019. The hearing considered two appeals to the Information Comissioner’s ruling that part of the report should be released and part of it should be witheld on national security grounds. A decision is expected in January 2020.
The key documents are:
- MoD witness statement from Vanessa Nicholls, head of the Defence Nuclear Organisation
- MoD witness statement from Rear Admiral Keith Beckett of the Submarine Delivery Agency
- Skeleton argument submitted by the Information Commissioner
- Skeleton argument submitted by the MoD
- The portion of the 2015/16 DNSR report that the MoD have released.
NIS attended the hearing and will be publishing updates on the case.