The threat from foreign states of hostile activity against the UK’s interests is growing. The National Security Bill completely overhauls and updates espionage laws and creates a whole suite of measures to enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.
The proposed measures include: –
- reform existing espionage laws;
- include new offences to tackle state-backed sabotage and foreign interference;
- create a registration scheme requiring individuals in the UK to register certain arrangements with foreign governments;
- enhance police powers to support the investigation of state threats activity;
- reform existing prohibited places provisions to protect the UK’s most sensitive sites;
- provide powers to allow state threats to be tackled at an early stage;
- introduce new tools of last resort to manage those who pose a threat but have not met the threshold for prosecution
- restrict the ability of convicted terrorists to receive civil legal aid and prevent their exploitation of civil damage systems
This Bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee which is expected to report to the House by Tuesday 13 September 2022.