THE UK Government has delayed replying to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for documents related to independence in Catalonia until a week after tomorrow’s Catalan election.
And it has used the same tactics for withholding documents as it deployed in the “Frenchgate” memo affair – that information which could “prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and any other State” was exempt from disclosure.
The allegation stemmed from an FOI request made to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) by Luke James, a political reporter for the Morning Star. He requested briefing notes on Catalonia written by ministerial advisers, along with any FCO correspondence concerning Catalonia, including emails and electronic communications.
James said: “I hoped the documents would cast light on the Government’s position on Catalan independence. However, the Government has used a delaying tactic to withhold the information I requested until at least a week after the election.”
He added that he also asked for correspondence between the Spanish desk at the FCO and the British Embassy in Madrid.
Prime Minister David Cameron told Catalans during a visit to Madrid earlier this month that they were “better off together” – the same message he gave to Scots during the independence referendum.
He did not say if Catalonia should have a legally binding poll, similar to that held in Scotland.
James had hoped the requested documents could help cast a light on whether the UK Government believed Catalonia should be granted a referendum and if Britain had made preparations to co-operate with an independent Catalan state.
FOI law requires that public bodies have to respond within 20 working days of the request for information being made.
James received a Government reply on September 4 – the same day Cameron visited Madrid.
Its letter confirmed that the FCO “does hold information falling within the terms of your request”, but cited a “qualified exemption” to delay the release of any documents until at least October 2.
FOI law states that information that could “prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and any other state” is exempt from disclosure.
This was the same exemption the Cabinet Office used in the Frenchgate memo case, when former Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael leaked and then lied about a memo that gave a false account of a private conversation between First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Sylvie Bermann, the French ambassador to the UK.
At the time, SNP MP Peter Grant attacked the decision to withhold details of who knew about the memo.
He said: “The attempt to hide behind the excuse that it will damage relations with France is simply laughable as the content of the memo has already been released. By rejecting the FOI request, the UK Government has essentially placed protecting individual politicians above the principle of open and transparent government.”
On this latest occasion the Government added that extra time was needed to carry out a “public interest test” to decide which, if any, of the requested documents were released.
However, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) in England believed the Government’s reticence reflected Spanish pressure to “silence this situation worldwide”.
The pro-independence group cited an incident last month when Catalan Foreign Affairs Secretary Roger Albinyana visited Uruguay.
He was invited by the Uruguayan Parliament to present the Catalan case for independence, but claimed he was told by MPs that the Spanish embassy there had put pressure on them to cancel the event.
In a statement, ANC England co-ordinator Carmina Munte said she was “not surprised” that the Government had not yet released the documents.
“Despite the European Union being the bastion of democracy, we suspect there is strong opposition to allowing the advancement of our democratic movement by various governments,” she said.
“But by maintaining silence or obscurantism they hurt our process and, perhaps not intentionally, are positioning against it.
“We expect the UK Government, as per their position allowing Scotland’s referendum, more than anyone to understand the Catalan people’s right to decide their own political path via ... the polls.”
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