[2025] UKUT 105 (AAC)

Mr Walawalkar made a request, on behalf Liberty Investigates, for information to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“the MCA”) on 12 August 2022. The request was about distress calls made to HM Coastguard over a period of a week from people in the English Channel, and was in the following terms:

“Please can you provide me the following under the FOI Act:

[1] A copy of the recorded audio of all calls between people at sea in the English Channel and HM Coastguard between 00:01am on 15 November 2021 and 23:59pm on 22 November 2021...Please provide as many of these recordings as is retrievable within the cost limit.

[2] If retrievable within the cost limit, for each audio recording disclosed in response to point 1 - please specify which HM Coastguard control room handled the distress call (eg Dover Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre).

[3] If retrievable within the cost limit, please also provide a transcript of audio recording of all calls requested in point 1.

[4] For each call requested in point 1, please provide the HMCG GIN incident number it relates to.”