ICO Decision Notice: BBC FOI Request on Spanish PM Title

ICO Decision Notices

Filed February 5th, 2026

Detected February 14th, 2026

Summary

The ICO has issued a decision notice regarding a BBC Freedom of Information (FOI) request concerning the Spanish Prime Minister's title. The ICO upheld the BBC's position that the information, if held, is for journalistic purposes and therefore exempt from FOIA.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice (IC-399883-W2Q3) concerning a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The complainant sought information on how many times the President of the Government of Spain was referred to as Prime Minister or PM, and the legal basis for such references. The BBC claimed the information was covered by a derogation for journalistic purposes, exempting it from FOIA.

The Commissioner's decision is that the information, if held by the BBC, is for the purposes of journalism, art, or literature and is thus not covered by FOIA. Consequently, the BBC's position is upheld. No further steps are required as a result of this decision, indicating no compliance actions are mandated for regulated entities based on this specific outcome.

Source document (simplified)

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Date 5 February 2026
Sector Central government
Decision(s) FOI 3: Not upheld The complainant requested information from the BBC about the number of times the President of Government of Spain was referred to as Prime Minister or PM and the legal basis for this. The BBC responded that the requested information, if held, was covered by the derogation and hence excluded from FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that this information, if held at all, is held by the BBC for the purposes of journalism, art or literature and so is not covered by FOIA. He therefore upholds the BBC’s position. The Commissioner does not require any steps as a result of this decision.