Jonathon Read v The Information Commissioner & Anor

Facts

The appellant, Jonathon Read, completed a Master of Business Administration with the Open University between 2020 and 2023. Following completion of his studies, concerns arose about aspects of the assessment process and about matters associated with the 2023 UCU marking boycott, which developed into a broader dispute concerning assessment governance, quality assurance, external examining arrangements and the University's response to the issues he raised. From 2023 onwards he engaged extensively with the University through information rights requests, data protection requests, complaints, review requests and related correspondence, and during 2024 made disclosures he characterised as whistleblowing disclosures, which the University rejected. On 17 January 2025 he made a four-part request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 seeking information about external examining arrangements, examination boards, contracts with external examiners, departures from established procedures during the marking boycott and the use of alternative or irregular markers on specified modules he had studied. The University refused the request on 13 February 2025 in reliance on sections 14(1) and 14(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and maintained that refusal on internal review on 21 February 2025. The Information Commissioner upheld the refusal under section 14(1), finding it unnecessary to determine section 14(2) separately, and the appellant appealed to the Tribunal.