Facts: the claimant was detained at Rampton Hospital under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and sought disclosure of a psychologist’s report. The Trust did not intend to rely on this report in any tribunal proceedings and refused to disclose it to the claimant, or to give reasons why not. The claimant applied for disclosure under section 7(9) of the Data Protection Act 1998. A special advocate was appointed to read the report and make submissions on the claimant’s behalf.

Judgment: Cranston J delivered a closed and an open judgment, refusing disclosure of the report. Under the Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Health) Order 2000 disclosure could be refused where there might well be a risk of harm to health falling short of a probability, whether that was the subject’s health, or that of others. In this case, that risk was well-established, for reasons given in the closed judgment.