Walthamstow Central immigration enforcement operation
Request ID: FOI-1914-2122 Date published: 22 December 2021
You asked
On 13 October 2021, an immigration enforcement operation was carried out at Walthamstow Central underground station by police and/or Home Office immigration enforcement officers.
In a comment to media, a TfL spokesperson confirmed that this operation took place on TfL property, was not authorized by TfL and would not be repeated. The spokesperson further confirmed that there had been discussions with policing partners to ensure this did not happen again.
Please could you provide me with a copy of all information TfL holds on this incident at Walthamstow Central on 13 October 2021. This includes but is not limited to internal correspondence, memoranda and notes, as well as external correspondence or minutes of meeting.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1914-2122
Thank you for your request received on 24 November 2021 asking for information about an immigration enforcement operation that was carried out at Walthamstow Central London Underground station.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.
Please find the requested correspondence attached.
However, in accordance with the FOI Act, some of the information is subject to a statutory exemptions to the right of access to information under section 31(1)(a) Law Enforcement which relates to all aspects of the prevention and detection of crime.
In this instance the exemption has been applied to some of the information contained in the correspondence as it would give details regarding the processes in place between us and the British Transport Police and Metropolitan Police Service. The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance feel that balance lies in favour of withholding the information to ensure that we are able to continue to comply with our Network Management Duty and the safety of the travelling public on our network while making the best use of public funds.
Additionally, in accordance with our obligations under Data Protection legislation some personal data has been removed, as required by section 40(2) of the FOI Act. This is because disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the legislation, specifically the first principle of Article 5 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation which requires all processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions which would make the processing ‘fair’.
This exemption to the right of access to information is an absolute exemption and not subject to an assessment of whether the public interest favours use of the exemption.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
