Following my letter of 16 June, I am replying on behalf of Dr Jones to your letter to him of 3 June where you again ask what harm specifically would arise from disclosure of the information sought relating to paroxetine.

I have reviewed the previous correspondence. Dr Jones previous letter of 1 May addressed this issue. In particular, he referred you back to Dr Wood's earlier letters of December 1997 and 23 January 1998 which provided the reasons and explanations to which you are entitled under the Code of Practice. Indeed, these letters go further than the Code of Practice requires, since we are not obliged to elaborate or enter into debate about the reasons behind our decision (para. 42 of the Guidance on the Code). I regret that there is nothing further that I can add.

As promised in my letter of 27 May, we will let you know the outcome of our review concerning SSRIs once this is complete. We will also let you know this week the outcome of the review you requested of the decision of 6 February not to disclose information. I regret any inconvenience this may be causing. I am grateful for your agreement last week for an extension to the deadline for our reply.