Part 7

Miscellaneous

Terrorist offences

Offences relating to information about members of armed forces etc
76
1
After section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (collection of information) insert—

Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etc
58A
1
A person commits an offence who—
a
elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been—
i
a member of Her Majesty's forces,
ii
a member of any of the intelligence services, or
iii
a constable,
which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or
b
publishes or communicates any such information.
2
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action.
3
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
a
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine, or to both;
b
on summary conviction—
i
in England and Wales or Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;
ii
in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.
4
In this section “the intelligence services” means the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and GCHQ (within the meaning of section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (c. 13)).
5
Schedule 8A to this Act contains supplementary provisions relating to the offence under this section.
.
2
In the application of section 58A in England and Wales in relation to an offence committed before 2 May 2022 the reference in subsection (3)(b)(i) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
3
In section 118 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11) (defences), in subsection (5)(a) after “58,” insert “ 58A, ”.
4
After Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000 insert the Schedule set out in Schedule 8 to this Act.
S. 76 in force at 16.2.2009 by S.I. 2009/58, art. 2(d)
Words in s. 76(2) substituted (28.4.2022) by The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No. 33) and Sentencing Act 2020 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/500), regs. 1(2), 5(1), Sch. Pt. 1