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Editor hits back as police brand request for details of £19m plan ‘vexatious’

Marc WaddingtonAn editor has hit out at a police force that branded his newspaper’s request for information about a planned £19m project “vexatious”.

Marc Waddington, who edits Stoke-on-Trent daily The Sentinel and its Stoke-on-Trent Live sister website, has criticised Staffordshire Police after it rejected a Freedom of Information request by the titles.

Sentinel local democracy reporter Joe Burn had asked the force for all documents relating to plans for the new firing range after details of the proposal emerged at a recent meeting of the Staffordshire police, fire and crime panel.

But the force refused to hand over any information at all, claiming the request to be “vexatious” and would require too many resources to vet.

The force’s refusal letter to Joe stated: “The key question to consider is whether the request is likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress based on the impact on the authority, weighed against any evidence about the purpose and value of the request.

“We are also entitled to take into account the context and history of the request where this is relevant.

“Staffordshire Police is treating this request as vexatious because to provide the requested data would cause an unjustified and disproportionate burden on the force because the amount of documentation which would need to be read through and, where necessary, redacted.”

The letter went on to claim there were hundreds of pages of documentation “which would need to be read and sanitised”.

It added: “It would entail a second member of the Freedom of Information team to read and check the records to ensure there are no data breaches with disclosure and all tactical information etc. has been redacted.

“A third person, whose area of business this belongs to, would then need to read the sanitised documentation to ensure all sensitive etc information has been redacted. To carry out this work would cause a significant burden on the department.”

Marc, pictured, has criticised the response.

He told HTFP: “We have asked legitimate questions on a matter of public interest relating to how the force is spending taxpayers’ money.

“It is concerning that a police force would apparently consider its obligation to be accountable to the public a nuisance, and a position I hope it will reconsider.”