Jacqui Smith - Standards and Privileges Committee Contents



22.  LETTER TO ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER JANET WILLIAMS, QPM, FROM THE COMMISSIONER, 18 JUNE 2009

Thank you for your letter which I received on 4 June about my request for summarised data held by the Metropolitan Police and the West Mercia Constabulary in respect of the overnight stays by the Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP in her London and Redditch residences from 28 June 2007 to 31 March 2009.

I set out the reasons for this request in my letter to the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis of 22 April. I received your initial response on 30 April and wrote to you again about this on 7 May. Your letter which I received on 4 June makes it clear that, while data supplied in a summarised format would not compromise your current position on the security of protected persons, you believed it was a matter between me and Ms Smith as to whether she relinquished her right to privacy and whether to seek her express consent for the Metropolitan Police Service (and West Mercia Police) to release the data I had requested.

I decided that I should seek Ms Smith's express consent to the Metropolitan Police Service and West Mercia Police releasing to me this data. Ms Jacqui Smith has now given her consent to that release. I attach a copy of her letter to me of 15 June. You will see that Ms Smith would like the night by night analysis that forms the basis of your summary and that she is writing to the Commissioner and to the Chief Constable to request this information. I hope this will not cause you any difficulty.

In the light of Ms Jacqui Smith's express consent, I would be grateful if you could provide me with the summarized information which I requested in my letter to you of 20 May. I know Ms Smith would be grateful—as would I—if it were possible to produce this information as soon as possible and ideally within the next two weeks. If there is any difficulty about this, please let me know. Could you also let me know when you let me have the information whether there any points you would wish to make about the accuracy of the summaries you have produced.

I would be most grateful for your help on this matter.

18 June 2009


 
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