“Legislation will be introduced to counter hostile activity by
foreign states.”
The purpose of the Bill is to:
● Provide the security services and law enforcement agencies with
the tools they need to tackle the evolving threat from hostile
activity by states and actors.
The main benefits of the Bill would be:
-
● Making the UK a harder environment for states to conduct
hostile activity in and increasing the cost to them of doing
so.
-
● Ensuring the security services and law enforcement agencies
have the necessary powers to tackle future threats and the
evolving tactics carried out by hostile states and actors.
The main elements of the Bill are:
-
● Reforming the Official Secrets Acts 1911, 1920 and 1939
which have failed to keep pace with modern threats and legal
standards.
-
● Creating of a Foreign Influence Registration Scheme to help
combat espionage, foreign interference, and to better protect
research.
-
● Bringing together new and modernised powers, ensuring our
security services can tackle evolving hostile activity by
states.
-
● We are also considering whether there is a case to be made
for criminalising other harmful activity conducted by and on
behalf of states, including the consideration of updating
treason laws.
Territorial extent and application
● The provisions in this Bill will extend and apply to the whole
of the UK.
Key facts
● A significant part of Official Secrets legislation dates back
to the early 20th Century, with its legislative roots in an 1889
Act. The language is archaic and complex and does not address the
modern threats posed by hostile activity carried out by states.
