Data protection
The High Court has ordered a lobbyist for the asbestos industry to provide further information to a doctor after failing to adequately respond to the doctor’s subject access request — a written request by, or on behalf of, an individual for the information he or she is entitled to ask for under data protection legislation (Rudd v Bridle & anor [2019] EWHC 893 (QB)).
Dr Rudd made the request in response to allegations that he was part of a conspiracy to provide false evidence about the effects of white asbestos.
Although the claim was brought under the old Data Protection Act 1998, the principles still apply under the Data Protection Act 2018, which incorporates the General Data Protection Regulation. They provide useful guidance on matters including identifying the data controller and exemptions.