Bristol University Continues to Withhold Critical Info on 5G to the UK Public

Bristol University continues to dodge questions and withhold information as they believe by you knowing the details of the 5G equipment and the types of tests they’re conducting that there will be ‘negative repercussions’ to students, staff and their stakeholders. Their blanket response seem to be firmly based in the financial interests of the University and not in the wider public knowing what they up to behind closed doors:

“The University has credible cause to believe that individuals who do not view 5G testing positively may use information disclosed in the form of site plans to disrupt research which would have a negative impact on the local economy and impede innovation that researchers are currently working to deliver in conjunction with a large number of stakeholders, both public and private.”

We’ve rebutted their FOI response (see the bottom of this page), as we believe that they’re stalling and hiding relevant information from its students, stakeholders and staff about the truth of 5G – That in fact, it is a dangerous weapon being tested without any hinderance in and amongst innocent people within the University, not to mention the wider public who would like to know what they’re experimenting with on campus so parents and students can make informed choices of Universities.

This article is a call to all Bristol University staff and students to directly email Bristol University to release answers to questions around whether or not 5G is safe and if it’s linked to the suicides and sudden death of Bristol Students coincidently since the 5G tests have started.

Here’s the previous FOI request and response to the University:

Bristol University Dodge Safety Questions and Mislead about 5G – Has Testing Increased Suicides?

FOI – 18th March 2019

Dear Sir/Madam

Freedom of Information Request FOI1968

I refer to your Freedom of Information Request received on 29^th January 2019.

Your Request

The University has carefully considered your requests and considers the most appropriate way to deal with your requests is to consider them under both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

The University’s Response

The University has considered the following requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

2. We’d like a map of the complex including where the 5G labs are located.

The University of Bristol does not have any 5G labs. We have carefully considered your request and have decided to rely on s.38 of the Act. We strongly believe that releasing a map of the complex would jeopardise the health and safety of staff and students. The University of Bristol believes that there is a credible threat to staff and student safety due to interest in 5G experiments from members of the community who disapprove of research in the area of 5G technology. The s.38 exemption is a qualified exemption therefore is subject to the public interest test. The public interest test can be found at the end of our response.

4. What are your University health and safety processes and health and safety at work procedures; along with your associated risk assessment for 5G testing? A booklet would be fine to read through if it covers everything off.

The University of Bristol has considered your request and relies on s.38 of the Act. In releasing health and safety procedures relating to the use of 5G, campaign groups opposed to the testing of 5G at the University of Bristol may use knowledge of procedures to cause serious harm to staff and students. S.38 is a qualified exemption therefore is subject to the public interest test. The public interest test can be found at the end of our response.

5. You said: “We operate CE marked test and measurement equipment for our experiments. All the equipment is tested and certified for relevant UK and EU standards.” I’d like to know exactly what the codes and names are of these standards please, this was my intention in the first place.

The University of Bristol relies on s.22A of the Act to exempt this information from disclosure. A number of experiments are ongoing and it is the University’s intention to publish a full report of the research undertaken at conclusion of trials. As such, the University believes that releasing information relating to the research may prejudice the interests of the research programme. The s.22A exemption is qualified and is therefore subject to the public interest test. The public interest test can be found at the end of our response.

7. Who are the corporations and entities that are helping to fund your 5G experiments?

The University of Bristol often works with carefully selected partners in order to deliver on our commitment to cement our place as a world-leader in intensive research. Those who choose to work with us, often do so on the basis of confidentiality as they aim to use new-found knowledge obtained during the course of collaborative research to progress commercially. As a result, the University relies on s.41 of the Act, namely that the information has been provided in confidence. A number of partners have chosen to be public about their work with us. Details of partners can be found at: https://www.bristolisopen.com/partners/. The University also relies on s.43 of the Act, namely that in disclosing with whom we work, we would prejudice our commercial interests. The University of Bristol relies heavily on funding from partners and in disclosing details of that relationship, the University would not have the commercial viability to compete with similar institutions. The s.43 exemption is a qualified exemption therefore we have conducted a public interest test which can be found at the end of our response.

8. Can you list all the candidate 5G technologies you have tested?

The University relies on s.22A of the Act. Details of technologies tested will be made available at the conclusion of the research. The University will not release details of this prematurely as we believe that the public interest favours withholding this information. We have conducted a public interest test which can be found at the end of our response.

9. Have you tested autonomous vehicles or simulated vehicles on or off campus? Yes or no? And make sure to put them into your answers for question 1.

The University of Bristol has successfully tested autonomous vehicles on Campus. We have attached a leaflet for your information.

10. Do participating post-grads; students and members of the public have to sign an informed consent contract? You didn’t answer this before.

All participants in University research are fully informed and complete necessary paperwork to evidence that consent where appropriate.

The University of Bristol relies on s.39 of the Freedom of Information Act, namely that the following requests relate to environmental information. The University has therefore considered these under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. For your convenience, the University has considered these at the same time as your other requests in order to prevent you from having to submit a new request which would unnecessarily increase the time you wait for a full response from the University.

1. I’d like to know the dates of each 5G test public and private since 2015 to date; what gear was used for each test; where it was located on or off campus; what were you testing e.g. frequency or Autonomous vehicles; and how long was each broadcast?

The University of Bristol relies on exception 12(4)(d) (Environmental Information Regulations), namely that this request relates to a programme of research that is currently incomplete. A full report of the research will be made available at an appropriate time. The University has conducted a public interest test and reasonably believes that disclosing information would detract from the main debate and the public would wrongly come to focus on the location of the test as opposed to the quality and intent of the test. The University requires time to review research in order to establish fact, therefore a ‘safe space’ away from unreasonable scrutiny is required in order to achieve our legitimate aims.

3. What are the RF radiation levels outside of the 5G labs where there are corridors, up, down, left and right rooms and other public and private access dwellings? As an example, when I stand with my meter around 20 metres from a phone mast, I would get a reading of 24.07 mW/m2.

The University of Bristol does not have any 5G labs.

6. Can you tell me what the 3.51GHz and 24.25 to 27.5GHz bands were used for previously?

The University relies on the exception under Regulation 12(4)(a) (Environmental Information Regulations) namely that the information is not held by the University.

 Public Interest Test

Arguments in Favour of Disclosure

There is unarguably an interest in the University’s research into 5G technology. The public rightly have an expectation to access information in relation to this developing area. The public have a right to have access to information which would further the debate into the use of 5G technology and open researchers to fair scrutiny. The University receives public funding therefore there is an expectation to ensure that the University is using public money appropriately. It is clearly important that the public are reassured that the University is conducting research in a safe, ethical and sustainable manner. We also acknowledge that the University has a duty to reassure the public that research undertaken at the university does not negatively affect their health or the environment in which they live.

Arguments in Favour of Maintaining the Exemption

The University strongly believes that disclosing incomplete, inaccurate information into the public domain would negatively impact public perception and would not provide the reassurance that the public are rightly entitled to. We believe that it would be irresponsible to disclose data in the course of completion that, if reported without context or understanding, would negatively impact the public and the research in question. Furthermore, the University has credible cause to believe that individuals who do not view 5G testing positively may use information disclosed in the form of site plans to disrupt research which would have a negative impact on the local economy and impede innovation that researchers are currently working to deliver in conjunction with a large number of stakeholders, both public and private.

Whilst conducting our public interest test, we have taken into account whether there are any allegations of wrongdoing against the University, wrongdoing with a plausible basis for the suspicion, and have concluded that in addition to the points raised above, the arguments in favour of maintaining the exemption considerably outweigh those of disclosing the information.

Internal Review Procedure

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request then you have a right under Section 50 of the Act to request an internal review.  All such requests must sent to us within 40 days and must clearly state your reference number and your reason for your request for an internal review.  We will respond to your request for an internal review within 20 working days of receipt.

Your request for an internal review should be sent to:

Director of Legal Services

Secretary’s Office

University of Bristol

Beacon House

Queen’s Road

Bristol

BS8 1QU

Or you can email your request to [email protected], quoting your FOI reference number at the head of this letter.

SMOMBIE GATE’S RESPONSE:

We’re not happy with your response.

1. I’d like to ask the same questions again about your ‘5G test labs’. You are deliberately misinterpreting and being too literal as to what was requested. You in fact call them ’test labs’ in your last FOI response. As you’re testing 5G within them, they were refered to as 5G test labs. Your response here: