Their decision to restrict that information was appealed firstly (unsuccessfully) to the Chief Minister's Department, and then escalated to the Information Commissioner, Emma Martins.

It's only the second time since the FoI law came into force on 1st January 2015 that she has been asked to step in.

Ms Martins has now ruled that the Chief Minister's Department was wrong to redact the e-mails to the extent that they did, and has ordered the Department to publish them within the next 35 days:

"Whilst the [Chief Minister's Department] is entitled to rely on some of...exemptions to withhold certain of the emails (or parts thereof), some of the exemptions are not engaged and thus the [Department] must disclose such information in order to comply with the legislation. The Commissioner therefore finds that the complaint is partly upheld.

"In making this finding the Commissioner also records...that a significant number of emails which were subject of the request were appropriately fully or partly redacted and in accordance with exemptions under the Law."

A Government of Jersey spokesman commented:

“We thank the Information Commissioner for the comprehensive report detailing her decision on an appeal made in relation to a Freedom of Information response provided by the Chief Minister’s Department. The report has identified a number of areas in which she agrees with steps taken to respond to the request and has also outlined the areas which she feels should be reconsidered. The department will now carefully consider the actions set out in the report and respond within the timeframe required.

“The Freedom of Information Law has been in place for almost two years and during that time States of Jersey departments have responded to over 1,300 requests for information. The Council of Ministers remains committed to the principle of open and transparent government and making sure that information about public services is readily accessible.”