Taken for granted

Someone with the unlikely name of Lily Burlero seems to have something of an inside track on the finances of the BBC World Service. She (or he ?) has made a Freedom of Information inquiry alleging that the Corporation has paid back £7.7m grant-in-aid funding to the Foreign Office. The BBC, whilst admitting nothing, says it may have relevant documents, but is asking for more time to consider where public interest lies - saying it'll reply on July 15th.

We consider that the exemptions in section 36 of the Act (disclosure would likely prejudice the
effective conduct of public affairs and/or inhibit the free and frank exchange of views) apply to
information you have requested. We now need further time in which to consider the public
interest in disclosing the information. In your case, we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies.

In 2008/9 grant-in-aid to the World Service was £265m. Found through "What Do They Know".