Part 10Information

England and Wales and Northern Ireland

438 Disclosure of information by F1certain F2authorities

(1)

Information obtained by or on behalf of F3a relevant authority in connection with the exercise of any of F4the authority's functions F5under, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8 may be disclosed by F6the authority if the disclosure is for the purposes of any of the following—

(a)

any criminal investigation which is being or may be carried out, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere;

(b)

any criminal proceedings which have been or may be started, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere;

(c)

the exercise of the F7authority's functions F8under, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8;

(d)

the exercise by the prosecutor of functions under Parts 2, 3 and 4;

(e)

the exercise by the Scottish Ministers of their functions under Part 5 F9or 8;

(f)

the exercise by a customs officer F10, an accredited financial investigator F11, a constable or an SFO officer of his functions under Chapter 3 F12, 3A F13, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E or 3F of Part 5;

F14(fa)

the exercise of any functions of F15the National Crime Agency F16or another F17relevant authority under, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8;

(g)

safeguarding national security;

(h)

investigations or proceedings outside the United Kingdom which have led or may lead to the making of an external order within the meaning of section 447;

(i)

the exercise of a designated function.

F18(2)

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F18(3)

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F18(4)

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(5)

If F19a relevant authority makes a disclosure of information for a purpose specified in subsection (1) F20the authority may make any further disclosure of the information by the person to whom F20the authority discloses it subject to such conditions as F20the authority thinks fit.

(6)

Such a person must not further disclose the information in contravention of the conditions.

(7)

A disclosure under this section is not to be taken to breach any restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

(8)

But nothing in this section authorises the making of a disclosure—

(a)

which contravenes F21the data protection legislation;

(b)

which is prohibited by F22any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

F23(8A)

This section does not affect a power to disclose which exists apart from this section.

(8B)

This section applies to information obtained before the coming into force of subsection (10) as well as to information obtained after the coming into force of that subsection.

(9)

A designated function is a function which the Secretary of State thinks is a function of a public nature and which he designates by order.

F24(10)

In this section F25“relevant authority” has the same meaning as in section 435.