‘any person to whom this subsection applies is guilty of an offence if he:
- alters,
- defaces,
- blocks,
- erases,
- destroys or
- conceals
any record held by the public authority, with the intention of preventing the disclosure by that authority of all, or any part, of the information to the communication of which the applicant would have been entitled’ (source).
At the time of writing (2024) in 24 years, the ICO has prosecuted 1 one person for the offence! The individual was ‘convicted’ and fined. ‘Convicted’ is somewhat grandiose and may suggest the ICO investigated and proved the offence – in fact, the person confessed.