The Nuclear Security (Secretary of State Security Directions) Regulations 2018

Power to deal with cause of imminent threat to security

4.—(1) Where an enforcement officer finds any article or substance on relevant premises in circumstances in which the officer has reasonable cause to believe it poses an imminent threat to security, the enforcement officer may, if authorised, do any of the following—

(a) seize the article or substance;

(b) cause it to be made harmless or the risk of harm from it to be reduced (in either case, by destruction or otherwise);

(c) for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (b), seize any other article or substance.

(2) Before any article that forms part of a batch of similar articles, or any substance, is dealt with under sub-paragraph (1)(b), the enforcement officer must, if it is practicable—

(a) take a sample, and

(b) give a portion of the sample, marked so as to be identifiable, to a person in authority at the premises.

(3) As soon as practicable after seizing or dealing with any article or substance under sub-paragraph (1), the enforcement officer must make and sign a written report setting out the circumstances in which the article or substance was so seized or dealt with.

(4) The enforcement officer must give a signed copy of the report to a person in authority at the premises.

(5) If the person to whom the enforcement officer gives the report is not the owner of the article or substance, the enforcement officer must also—

(a) give a signed copy of the report to the owner, or

(b) if that is not possible because the enforcement officer cannot find out the owner’s name or address after making reasonable enquiries, give a further signed copy of the report to the person in authority referred to in sub-paragraph (4).

(6) In the case of a report in electronic form, any signature required on the report or a copy of it may be an electronic signature (within the meaning given in section 7(2) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000)(1).

(1)

2000 c. 7. Section 7(2) was amended by S.I. 2016/696, Schedule 3, paragraph 1.