The secretive Scottish Government has lost yet another battle with Scotland's Information Commissioner after refusing to publish documents. The SNP Executive have become infamous for blocking the release of certain publications despite being legally obliged to do so.

And now they have been rebuked once again and ordered to release information about Angus Robertson's secret meeting with an Israeli ambassador. The External Affairs Secretary provoked anger within his own party after meeting Daniela Grudsky, Israel's Deputy Ambassador to the UK, last year.

The SNP have prided themselves on their support for Palestine and this summit led to calls for him to resign, and led to the Scottish Government announcing it would no longer meet with Israeli diplomats. The move was criticised by the Jewish community in Scotland which already faces hostility due to the conflict in Gaza.

Numerous news publications applied for correspondence relating to the meeting with Ms Grudsky but this resulted in mounds of redacted documents and a refusal to disclose any information. The Ferret appealed to the Information Commissioner David Hamilton who has now ordered the release of the information requested.

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Mr Hamilton was actually told by the government that it could be antisemitic to release logistical information about the meeting. According to the Ferret, the government "stated that it had to be mindful of the need to treat Israel as it would ‘any other democratic nation’, in line with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Antisemitism”.

He said in a report: "They argued that ignoring Israel’s wishes in circumstances where other countries’ wishes have been respected, could be considered as an antisemitic action under the IHRA definition.” But he went on to explain that "the withheld information is mostly concerning the logistical arrangements” of the meeting and that “the majority of information withheld by the [Scottish Government has no inherent sensitivity”.

David Hamilton - Scottish Information Commissioner
David Hamilton - Scottish Information Commissioner

Mr Hamilton ordered that the withheld information be released within six weeks and that the government had breached transparency laws “by failing to identify, locate, retrieve and properly consider all of the information that fell within scope of the request and incorrectly withheld information.”

Carole Ewart, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, said: “Scotland’s 20 years old FOI Act is only powerful because people can enforce their right to access information for free. However, it is outdated and needs reformed to introduce a presumption in favour of disclosure, increase pro-active publication and tighten enforcement provisions.

“As the commissioner’s office received its highest number of FOI appeals ever in April, with 81 appeals from people who were unhappy with a public authority’s FOI response, there is a danger that failure to update FOI law and fund the commissioner’s office adequately will weaken the architecture of transparency so carefully constructed over the last twenty years.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We have received the Information Commissioner’s decision and are considering its terms. Freedom of Information legislation permits us to consider whether disclosure of information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the UK and any other state. This applies to all countries.”

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