Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information
The question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to FOI2025/18430 and Internal Review IR2026/03033, concerning background papers relating to the meeting on 28 August 2019 attended by Boris Johnson, Peter Thiel and Dominic Cummings, what specific prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs was identified as arising from disclosure of those papers.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
As set out in its response of 4 February 2026, the Cabinet Office recognises that there is a public interest in the transparency in how it makes decisions on responses to written parliamentary questions.
However, effective responses to written parliamentary questions rely on a safe space within which issues can be discussed openly and frankly.
The disclosure of the requested information would have a prejudicial effect on these relationships, which would not be in the public interest.
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