Abercorn Bombing Keenan’s Bar Trace 1972

Request Number: FOI/16148

Category: Organisational Information & Performance - Policies

Subject: Abercorn Bombing Keenan’s Bar Trace 1972

Request and Answer:
In relation to request number FOI/16148 Police Service of Northern Ireland is providing an NCND response and will explain this further in the response below.

Request 1
Please provide:
Telephone trace report for Abercorn Restaurant bombing warning call. Origin: Keenan's Bar, King Street, Belfast (16:28, 4 March 1972)

Request 2
RUC operational log for 'cordon & patron screening' at Keenan's Bar, King Street, (17:45, 4 March 1972)

Request 3
Internal memos explaining public reports naming trace as "Falls Road pub".

Answer
In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this particular request. The Police Service of Northern Ireland can neither confirm nor deny that it holds trace reports for calls from a specific location, in regards to the Abercorn Restaurant Bombing.

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in the request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17(1) of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which
a) states that fact,
b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and
c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) can Neither Confirm Nor Deny that it holds the information relevant to your request as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply by virtue of the following exemption(s):

Section 30(3) – Investigations and Proceedings
The duty to confirm or deny does not arise in relation to information which is (or if it were held would be) exempt information by virtue of subsection (1) or (2).
The full text of exemptions can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk and further guidance on how they operate can be located on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk.

PSNI follow the Information Commissioner’s Guidance in relation to ‘NCND’ and you may find it helpful to refer to this at the following link:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guidance-index/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/when-to-refuse-to-confirm-or-deny-holding-information/

‘Neither Confirm nor Deny’ (NCND)
There may be occasions when complying with the duty to confirm or deny under section 1(1)(a) would in itself disclose sensitive or potentially damaging information that falls under an exemption. In these circumstances, the Act allows a public authority to respond by refusing to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information.

The decision to issue a ‘neither confirm nor deny’ response is not affected by whether we do or do not hold the information but relates to the consequences of confirming or denying the information is held. The starting point and main focus in most cases will be theoretical considerations about the consequences of confirming or denying that a particular type of information is held. The decision to neither confirm nor deny is separate from a decision not to disclose information and needs to be taken entirely on its own merits.

However, this should not be taken as conclusive evidence that the information you requested exists or does not exist. NCND is not about the content of the requested information. The aim of providing an NCND response is to leave the question of whether or not PSNI hold the information entirely open. This is to ensure that no inferences can be drawn from the fact that we hold or do not hold the information.

Exemptions Explained

Section 30
Section 30 is a qualified class based exemption and there is a requirement to conduct a public interest test.

Public Interest Test
Factors Favouring Confirmation or Denial - Section 30
Confirming or denying whether information exists relevant to this request would lead to a better informed general public by identifying that the PSNI robustly investigate crime. This may promote public trust by providing transparency and demonstrating openness.

Factors Against Confirmation or Denial - Section 30
In some cases the confirmation or denial that information is held is a disclosure in itself. In such cases, PSNI takes advantage of its ability under FOIA legislation to, where appropriate, neither confirm nor deny that information is or is not held.

If the PSNI were to confirm or deny if trace reports from calls at a specific location are held, it could prejudice any ongoing investigations or future court proceedings, thus hindering the course of justice by prematurely releasing information. Irrespective of what information is or is not held, any information which could be used to undermine investigations and potentially hinder the course of justice, is not in the public interest.

Decision
The PSNI is committed to demonstrating openness and accountability, however, the benefits that would result from issuing a confirmation or denial do not outweigh the considerations favouring the neither confirm nor deny response. This is namely because of the impact it could have on the ability of the PSNI to fulfil our law enforcement purposes.

Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing investigations, there is a very strong public interest in protecting our investigative functions and procedures.

The Public Interest therefore must favour neither confirming nor denying that the requested information is held.

However, this should not be taken as conclusive evidence that the information you requested exists or does not exist.