In a modern, interconnected world it is right that the legislation moves away from binary concepts of a country being an “enemy” and covers the wide range of threats and harms that constitute espionage today.New offences capturing “espionage” activity The Government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy noted that ‘the distinction between economic and national security is increasingly redundant’.Following their analysis of the existing provisions, the Law Commission’s Protection of Official Data report recommended that “a new statute – containing modern language and updated provisions – should replace the Official Secrets Acts 1911-1939”.Often, the most damaging state threats activity is conducted by foreign intelligence services. Foreign intelligence services run networks of agents overseas, including in the UK, with the purpose of furthering their own objectives and damaging the UK’s national security.
New technologies have created new opportunities and vectors through which the UK can be attacked, lowering the cost and risk to states to conduct espionage and enabling the activity to take place abroad.UK assets and information with a commercial, economic or industrial value are a target for state actors, and we must make it as difficult as possible for states to attack the UK. The modern espionage threat endangers the safety and security of the UK and its citizens and, at its worst, can cause loss of life or serious damage to our economic wellbeing.Although the nature of the espionage threat has evolved over the last century, the risks posed by espionage remain. The existing espionage provisions within the OSAs 1911, 19 criminalise activity conducted by an individual intending to collect or disclose information with a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State also known as “spying”.In 2015, the Cabinet Office commissioned the Law Commission to undertake a review of the Official Secrets Acts ( OSAs) as part of a broader review of the Protection of Official Data and identified key areas for reform in the OSAs 1911, 19, including in relation to espionage by information gathering/disclosure – the Law Commission recommended that “a new statute, containing modern language and updated provisions, should replace the Official Secrets Acts 1911, 19”.
Reforming the existing offence increases our ability to tackle the modern espionage threat, make the UK a harder operating environment for state threats actors and, in turn, better protect national security.An offence of assisting a foreign intelligence service will reduce the ability of such agencies to carry out a range of hostile activities against the UK, extending beyond espionage activity.Creating separate offences captures the harmful activity in a way that is designed for a modern world, without inadvertently criminalising a wider range of activity.The Bill repeals the Official Secrets Acts 1911, 19, which contain the existing provisions.
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