(1)A disclosure of information which is authorised by section 6 does not breach—
(a)an obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or
(b)any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).
(2)But nothing in section 6 authorises the making of a disclosure which—
(a)contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998, or
(b)is prohibited by Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
(3)Section 6 does not limit the circumstances in which information may be disclosed apart from that section.
(4)Section 6(1) does not authorise a person serving in an intelligence service to disclose information to the Director or a relevant staff member.
But this does not affect the disclosures which such a person may make in accordance with intelligence service disclosure arrangements.
(5)Intelligence service information may not be disclosed by the Director or a relevant staff member without authorisation from the appropriate service chief.
(6)If the Director or a relevant staff member has disclosed intelligence service information to a person, that person may not further disclose that information without authorisation from the appropriate service chief.
(7)HMRC information may not be disclosed by the Director or a relevant staff member without authorisation from HMRC Commissioners.
(8)If the Director or a relevant staff member has disclosed HMRC information to a person, that person may not further disclose that information without authorisation from HMRC Commissioners.
(9)Subsections (7) and (8) do not apply to national minimum wage information.
(10)If a person contravenes subsection (7) or (8) by disclosing revenue and customs information relating to a person whose identity—
(a)is specified in the disclosure, or
(b)can be deduced from it,
section 19 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (wrongful disclosure) applies in relation to that disclosure as it applies in relation to a disclosure of such information in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act.
(11)In this section—
“appropriate service chief” means—
the Director-General of the Security Service (in the case of information obtained by the Director or a relevant staff member from that Service or a person acting on its behalf);
the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (in the case of information so obtained from that Service or a person acting on its behalf);
the Director of GCHQ (in the case of information so obtained from GCHQ or a person acting on its behalf);
“GCHQ” has the same meaning as in the Intelligence Services Act 1994;
“HMRC information” means information disclosed to the Director or a relevant staff member under section 6 by HMRC Commissioners or a person acting on behalf of HMRC Commissioners;
“intelligence service” means—
the Security Service;
the Secret Intelligence Service;
GCHQ;
“intelligence service disclosure arrangements” means—
arrangements made by the Director-General of the Security Service under section 2(2)(a) of the Security Service Act 1989 about the disclosure of information by that Service,
arrangements made by the Chief of the Intelligence Service under section 2(2)(a) of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 about the disclosure of information by that Service, and
arrangements made by the Director of GCHQ under section 4(2)(a) of that Act about the disclosure of information by GCHQ;
“intelligence service information” means information obtained from an intelligence service or a person acting on behalf of an intelligence service;
“national minimum wage information” means information obtained by an officer in the course of acting—
for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (see section 13 of that Act), or
by virtue of section 26(2);
“relevant staff member” has the same meaning as in section 6;
“revenue and customs information relating to a person” has the meaning given in section 19(2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.