person, who is aggrieved by any conduct falling within s 65(5), such as "conduct by
or on behalf of any of the intelligence services," is entitled to make a
complaint to the Tribunal "if he believes" that the conduct has taken place in
relation to him.
The Data Controller of the Security Service is named as the
Respondent to the proceedings. The Complainant wishes to be told whether files
on him exist and, if so, he asks to be given access to them.
4. On 12 July 2000 the Complainant requested the Security Service to give him
access to any relevant data held on him. Shortly after his request he received an
anonymous letter dated 24 July 2000. It purported to come from a serving officer
in the Security Service calling himself ''The Mechanic". The letter indicated that
data about him had been supplied to the Security Service in the late 1980s and
that personal details might have been included in a database and retained, even
though the files on him had since been closed.
5. His request for access was refused on U August 2000. The Respondent relied
on a certificate signed by the Secretary of State on 22 July 2000 under s 28(2) of
the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) creating an exemption from the subject
access provisions in s 7 for the purposes of safeguarding national security. The
Complainant successfully challenged the validity of the certificate on an appeal
under s 28(4) to the Information Tribunal (National Security Appeals Panel). On 1
October 2001 the Tribunal quashed the certificate on the ground that it included a
blanket exemption, which did not require the Secretary of State to consider