Part 1

Espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers

Espionage etc

Obtaining or disclosing protected information
1
1
A person commits an offence if—
a
the person—
i
obtains, copies, records or retains protected information, or
ii
discloses or provides access to protected information,
b
the person’s conduct is for a purpose that they know, or having regard to other matters known to them ought reasonably to know, is prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and
c
the foreign power condition is met in relation to the person’s conduct (see section 31).
2
In this section “protected information” means any information, document or other article where, for the purpose of protecting the safety or interests of the United Kingdom—
a
access to the information, document or other article is restricted in any way, or
b
it is reasonable to expect that access to the information, document or other article would be restricted in any way.
3
Subsection (1) applies whether the person’s conduct takes place in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
4
A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life or a fine (or both).
5
For the purposes of this section—
a
a person retains protected information if the person retains it in their possession or under their control;
b
disclosure includes parting with possession.