FOI 0326-2025/26-Reports of police force on the 5th/6th of July 2025 relating to Palestine Action

Request

Please state how many reports your police force received on the 5th and 6th of July 2025 regarding potential Terror Offences in relation to Palestine Action, which is now a proscribed terror group.

For the avoidance of doubt, this should include all reports received at any time on these two days, including reports sent electronically via email or via your website, as well as reports received via phone, in person, or any other way

Response

Decision
North Yorkshire Police neither confirms nor denies that any information is held pursuant to the following exemptions:

Section 23(5) Information Supplied by or Concerning, Certain Security Bodies
Section 24(2) National Security
Section 30(3) Investigations
Section 31(3) Law Enforcement
Section 40(5) Personal Information

S23 & S40 are absolute exemptions, and no public interest test is required.

Section 23(5) - Confirming or denying the existence of whether any information is held would contravene the constrictions laid out within Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in that this stipulates a generic bar on disclosure of any information applied by, or concerning, certain Security
Bodies.

Section 40(5) - Consideration on applying this exemption is subject to whether the disclosure of any information would lead to identifying individuals and place information pertaining to them into the public domain. This constitutes personal data which would, if released, be in breach of the rights provided by the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations; namely the first
data protection principle, which states that personal data will be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently.

Sections 24 and 31 are prejudiced based qualified exemptions, and there is a requirement to evidenceharm in confirming or denying information is held and also consider the public

Evidence of harm: s24(2) and s31(3)

Any release under the FOIA is a disclosure to the world, not just to the individual making the request. To confirm or deny whether any information is held in relation to this request would reveal whether or not there has been any information received on the dates specified, in respect of potential terrorism
or terrorist related activity.

Police forces work in conjunction with other agencies and information is shared in line with information sharing protocols. Modern day policing is intelligence led, and this is particularly pertinent with regard to both law enforcement and national security. The public expect North Yorkshire Police to use all powers and tactics available to them to prevent and detect crime or disorder and maintain public safety.

To provide the requested data, if held, for an individual force, would allow comparison between forces across the country and enable terrorists to build a picture of the effectiveness of what resources are in place and where they are deployed. Disclosure would ultimately prejudice the effectiveness of the national counter terrorism effort and would allow inferences to be drawn about force level counterterrorism activity and identify vulnerability around the country.

If North Yorkshire Police were to confirm or deny any information was held in respect of this request, this would undermine an individual force's policing capabilities, which consequently would be detrimental to our ability to deal with the on-going terrorist threat we face.

The prevention and detection of crime is the foundation upon which policing is built and the threat from terrorism cannot be ignored. It is generally recognised that the international security landscape is increasingly complex and unpredictable. The current UK threat level from international terrorism,
based on intelligence, is assessed as of today’s date, as “Substantial” which means that a terrorist attack is likely, see below link:

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/threat-levels

The impact of providing information under FOI would provide crucial information on the police intelligence picture in respect of those who may be supportive of a proscribed organisation and to what extent they may be engaged in terrorist activity. This would provide criminals including terrorists or those intent on committing criminal or terrorist acts, with valuable information as to where the
police are targeting their investigations.

Confirmation or denial would undermine the effective delivery of operational law enforcement by highlighting which areas have or have not received police attention from these types of reports. Furthermore, intelligence would be weakened thereby undermining national security and leaving the
United Kingdom at risk of further terrorist activity.

Section 24

Factors favouring complying with Section 1(1)(a) confirming that information is held
The public are entitled to know how public funds are spent and resources distributed within an area of policing, particularly with regard to how the police investigate reports of terrorism or terrorist related activity. Furthermore, confirmation or denial may improve public debate and assist the public
to take steps to protect themselves.

Factors against complying with Section 1(1)(a) confirming or denying that any information is held
Considering the current security climate within the United Kingdom, no information which may aid a terrorist should be disclosed, if held. To what extent this information may aid a terrorist is unknown, but it is clear that it will have an impact on a force’s ability to monitor terrorist activity.

The public trust the Police Service to make appropriate decisions with regard to their safety and protection. The only way of reducing risk is to be cautious with what is placed into the public domain.

The cumulative effect of terrorists gathering information from various sources would build a picture of vulnerabilities. The more information disclosed over time will provide a more detailed account of the tactical infrastructure of not only North Yorkshire Police force area but also a country as a whole.
Any incident that results from such a disclosure would by default affect National Security.

Section 30 is a class based qualified exemption which means the public interest must be considered.

Section 30(3)
Factors favouring complying with Section 1(1)(a) confirming that information is held
Confirming or denying whether information exists relevant to this request would lead to a betterinformed general public identifying that the police robustly investigate offences which may encourage individuals to provide intelligence in order to assist with investigations and reduce crime. This would further promote public trust in providing transparency and demonstrating openness and accountability into where the police are currently focusing their investigations. The public are entitled to know how public funds are spent, particularly in the current economic climate.

The issue of privacy is a highly emotive subject area often attracting high profile media. Confirming or denying that information exists could provide reassurance to the general public.

Factors against complying with Section 1(1)(a) confirming or denying that any information is held
Modern-day policing is intelligence led, and the police share information with other law enforcement agencies as part of their investigative processes. To confirm or not whether specific information relating to terrorist organisations is held could hinder the prevention and detection of crime as well as undermine the partnership approach to investigations and law enforcement. Should offenders take evasive action to avoid detection police resources may well be diverted from frontline duties and other areas of policing to locate and apprehend these individuals. In addition, the safety of individuals and
victims would be compromised.

Section 31(3)
Factors favouring complying with Section 1(1)(a) to confirm or deny that information is held
Confirming or denying whether any information is held would allow the public to see where public funds have been spent and allow the Police Service to appear more open and transparent in regard to its activities. Furthermore, owing to the inherent link between transparency and public confidence, confirming or denying whether information is held would be likely to improve the general public's confidence in the force. Over time, an increase in public confidence would be likely to improve public engagement with the police which would in turn, lead to an improvement in the North Yorkshire Police ability to both prevent and detect crime and apprehend and prosecute offenders.

Factors against complying with Section 1(1)(a) confirming or denying that any information is held North Yorkshire Police have a duty of care to the community at large and public safety is of paramount importance. If an FOI disclosure revealed information to the world (by citing an exemption or stating, no information held) that would undermine the security of the national infrastructure. Offenders, including terrorist organisations, could use this to their advantage which would compromise public safety and more worryingly encourage offenders to carry out further crimes.

Therefore, confirming or denying information is held, would allow terrorists to gain an operational advantage over North Yorkshire Police, therefore requiring an increase in resources, which cannot be
in the public interest.

Balance Test
The points above highlight the merits of confirming, or denying, whether any further information pertinent to this request exists.

The security of the country is of paramount importance and North Yorkshire Police will not divulge whether any information is or is not held if to do so it would undermine National Security, our law enforcement functions, the investigative process or place the safety of individual(s) at risk. Whilst it is
recognised that there is a public interest in the transparency of policing operations and providing assurance that the police service is appropriately and effectively engaging with the threat posed by various groups or individuals, there is a very strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of police
investigations and operations in this highly sensitive area.

As much as there is public interest in knowing that policing activity is appropriate and balanced in matters of National Security, this will only be overridden in exception circumstances. Areas of interest to the police are sensitive to the extent that they reveal local intelligence.

The public trust North Yorkshire Police to make appropriate decisions with regard to their safety and protection and the only way of reducing risk is to be cautious with any information that is released. Confirming or denying whether any information is held would reveal data around force level activity relating terrorism. This would result in an increase of harm to either current or future investigations, or the subject of the investigation. Any disclosure of information, if held, which has the potential to jeopardise an investigation, is therefore likely to prejudice law enforcement and would therefore be of assistance to those intent on causing harm.

By its very nature, information relating to the support or membership of a proscribed organisation investigations undoubtedly undermines National Security. Under FOI there is a requirement to comply with Section 1(1)(a) and confirm what information is held. In some cases, it is that confirmation, or not,
which could disclose facts harmful to members of the public, police officers, the Government and its employees.

Therefore, at this moment in time, it is our opinion that for these issues the balance test favours neither confirming nor denying that information exists.

No inference can be drawn from this refusal that information is or isn’t held.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in response to part of your request.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.