Request for Documentation on London Horse Incident April 24th
Request ID: FOI-0317-2425 Date published: 16 May 2024
You asked
Dear sir/madam,
I hope this message finds you well.
As you might have witnessed, an unexpected incident unfolded on the streets of London on April 24th. Two royal horses causing a stir as they panicked and galloped through the city streets. The peculiar nature of this event has compelled me to reach out Transport for London.
I am an artist from The Netherlands. My work often revolves around the influence of human actions on the environment and the behaviours of animals, and vice versa. The imagery and symbolism encapsulated within this event resonate deeply with my artistic pursuits.
In light of this, I am reaching out to kindly request any documentation you may have of this incident, particularly photographs or videos. CCTV footage, if available, would be invaluable for my purposes. As the governing body for transportation in London, TfL likely has cameras around the route that the horses took.
If you have any materials you'd be willing to share or if there are any specific protocols I should follow in requesting such documentation, please do not hesitate to let me know. Your cooperation and assistance would be immensely appreciated.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
We answered
Our ref: FOI-0317-2425/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 26 April 2024 asking for information about the London Horse Incident on April 24th.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.
Our CCTV which monitors traffic in London does not record, it is used for monitoring purposes only. We do have ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras, but these would only take photographs or CCTV footage of specific vehicles for any traffic violations.
It is therefore unlikely that we would hold the information you have requested, and searching to see if any relevant information is held would place an unreasonable burden on us. Our principal duty is to provide an effective transport service for London and we consider that looking for any relevant information would represent a disproportionate effort. Furthermore if we were to identify any relevant CCTV or photographs of this incident, we would then need to make appropriate redactions to ensure no personal information was released as per our obligations under GDPR. It would be a significant distraction from our work managing the TfL network, requiring re-allocation of already limited resources and placing an unacceptable burden on a small number of personnel, which may result in us not finding any of the information you have requested. Whilst we therefore consider that your request falls under section 14(1) of the FOI Act, this does not reflect a conclusion that it has been your intention to deliberately place an undue burden on our resources.
I am sorry we are unable to assist you on this occasion. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
