These documents relate to the National Security (State Threats)
Act which received Royal Assent on 8 July 2026.
Contents
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Bill
factsheets
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Impact
assessments
Threats to the UK from foreign states are persistent and take
many forms including:
- espionage
- sabotage
- disinformation
- cyber operations
- interference in the political system
- assassination and attempted assassination
Collectively these are referred to by the government as state
threats.
The government is determined to deter, detect and disrupt those
state actors who harm the UK.
The National Security Act
2023 introduced a suite of new powers and offences to ensure
that law enforcement and intelligence agencies had the modern
tools, powers and protections they needed to counter those who
seek to do the UK harm. The act also strengthened the resilience
of the UK's political system against covert foreign influence and
provided greater transparency around the activities of specified
foreign powers.
The threat to the UK from foreign powers and their proxies has
grown in scale and complexity, threatening lives and undermining
our democratic values.
The National Security (State Threats) Act will build on the
National Security Act by providing a new power for the Secretary
of State to designate bodies that are engaged in threat activity
linked to a foreign power, similar to proscription under the
Terrorism Act 2000.
New criminal sanctions will apply to designated bodies, including
proxies, being used by states to carry out their hostile
activities in the UK.
The National
Security (State Threats) Act in Parliament.
Bill factsheets
Impact assessments
