Sugar v BBC
[2012] UKSC 4
Independent editorial summary — not the official judgment. Read the full judgment via the source link.
Ratio Decidendi
Information held by the BBC (or another hybrid designated public authority) is outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 wherever it is held, even only partly, for purposes of journalism, art or literature, provided that journalistic purpose is more than minimal; the exemption is not lost merely because the information is also held for other purposes.
Facts
The BBC commissioned senior journalist Malcolm Balen to review its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after complaints of bias from both pro-Israeli and pro-Arab groups; his internal report (the 'Balen report'), completed in 2004, was an unpublished briefing document for BBC senior management reflecting his own views. Steven Sugar, a solicitor and supporter of Israel, requested disclosure of the report under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, but the BBC refused on the ground that it held the report for the purposes of journalism, placing it outside the limited scope within which the Act applies to the BBC.
Judgment Summary
The Supreme Court, by a majority, dismissed the appeal and upheld the BBC's 'polarised construction' of the journalism designation in Schedule 1 to the Act. Where information is held partly for the purposes of journalism and partly for other purposes, it falls outside the scope of the Act provided the journalistic purpose is more than minimal, even if the information is also held, perhaps predominantly, for other purposes.
Key Quotes
"The primary contention made on behalf of the BBC is that, where it is held by the BBC even only partly for purposes of journalism, information is beyond the scope of the Act ; and thus that, provided that the purposes of journalism are significant (i."
— the Court(verbatim, verified against the judgment)
Subsequent Treatment
Applied in subsequent FOI cases involving the BBC and other designated bodies.
What To Do Next
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