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National Security Act 2023

Contents

Overview of the Act

  1. The threat of hostile activity against the UK’s interests from foreign states is growing. States are becoming increasingly assertive in how they advance their own objectives and undermine the safety and interests of the UK, operating covertly in an attempt to interfere with the UK’s national security, economy, and democracy. 
  2. Threats to the UK from foreign states are persistent and take many forms, including espionage, foreign interference in the UK’s political system, sabotage, disinformation, cyber operations, and even assassinations. Collectively these are referred to by the Government as state threats.
  3. The Government is determined to deter, detect, and disrupt those state actors who seek to harm the UK by covertly targeting the UK’s national interests, sensitive information, trade secrets and democratic way of life. 
  4. The threat has evolved since the last time the UK substantively legislated on this issue. The Official Secrets Act 1911 and subsequent acts in 1920 and 1939 were primarily focused on the threat posed by early 20th Century Germany. Since then, the global landscape has changed significantly, with collaboration between states offering benefits in a wide range of areas. The traditional way of viewing states as hostile and non-hostile often overlooks the complexity of modern international relations in an interconnected world, including complex international trade and supply chains.
  5. In addition, new technologies and their widespread commercial availability have created new opportunities and significant vectors for attack, lowering the cost and risk to states of conducting espionage. Accordingly, while only a small number of states show the full range of capabilities and a willingness to use them, a large number of countries have both the capability and intent to conduct hostile activity against the UK, in some form.
  6. The focus, first and foremost, needs to be on the hostile activity being conducted and the UK’s ability to counter it. The Act brings together a suite of new measures and further protects the UK’s national security, the safety of the British public and the UK’s vital interests from the hostile activities of foreign states by:
    • Ensuring that the UK’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the modern tools, powers, and protections they need to counter those who seek to do the UK harm. With updated investigative powers and capabilities, those on the front line of our defence will be able to do even more to counter state threats.
    • Keeping the UK safe by making this country an even harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, steal information for commercial advantage, or interfere in UK society covertly.
    • Strengthen the resilience of the UK political system against covert foreign influence and provide greater assurance around the activities of specified foreign powers.
  7. Together these powers are intended to form a new baseline in the UK’s counter-state threats toolkit and ensure the UK is a hard operating environment for those who wish to cause the UK harm.
  8. The Act prevents the exploitation of the UK’s civil legal aid and civil damage systems by convicted terrorists. This prevents public funds from being given to those who could use them to support terror. The Act also makes a number of changes to the Terrorism Act 2000 to either strengthen existing or introduce new safeguards, or implement recommendations made by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.

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