The MoD has the ultimate get-out clause.
You'd think so wouldn't you, however, what you might find is that you have to have a seriously good reason not to give the information. Just because something is caveated, does not mean it is instantly undisclosed. Far from it, the owner of the document is to decide whether the information is still classified or not, given elapsed time and circumstances since the creation of the document. Also, even if the document is still classified, it would be sanitised by omitting words/dates etc that give the document its classification.
All in all, it is a potential nightmare, we have to respond to these requests within 20 working days. For the inquisitive out there, its not going to be an option, at a minimum of £600 per request (I believe), those people will possibly remain inquisitive...... but for another government lets say.... who could run a programme to generate automated requests. The whole of the MoD could grind to a halt (if it hasn't already).
On the bright side, some civil servants would actually have a job to do!
