Confidential information held by public bodies for public purposes should be treated with the utmost care in accordance with statutory conditions, warns Nicholas Dobson
- HMRC was not entitled to disclose confidential information to journalists on the basis that it was incidental to HMRC’s functions.
When you visit your doctor you expect your personal medical disclosures to be kept confidential. In other words they won’t be disclosed other than with your consent and for proper professional purposes to promote your health and well-being. Similar expectations apply to all professional interactions. And of course with that often unwelcome emanation of the state, HMRC—Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
But just how trustworthy are the tax people in these matters? Under what rules do tax officials operate and can they justifiably talk rather loosely and “off the record” to the press? A recent decision of the Supreme Court looked at this particular issue and considered the nature and extent of the statutory powers governing disclosure of information held for HMRC functions.
The case in question was R (Ingenious Media Holdings plc and another) v Commissioners for Her
