Key Facts

• The Committee will meet on specified dates between July and September.
• Oral evidence sessions with multiple witnesses are scheduled for Thursday, July 7.
• Copies of written evidence received by the Committee will be made available in the Committee Room and circulated to Members by email.
• The independent reviewer can provide transparency about how TPIMs are operating.
• Legal aid has not been made available in all cases for TPIMs, leading to fewer court cases and less information on the use of TPIMs.
• Jonathan Hall expects STPIMs to be effective as agencies and the Home Secretary will only impose them when necessary.
• The changes in part 3 are seen as entirely symbolic rather than addressing an operational need.
• Removing legal aid affects a wide range of individuals beyond just convicted terrorists, including those with minor offences or no custodial sentences.
• Exceptional case funding is difficult to obtain and not guaranteed for urgent cases.
• Rushanara Ali chairs a session with Sir Alex Younger (former chief of SIS) and Professor Sir David Omand from King’s College London.
• The session runs until 12:40 pm.
• Sir Alex discusses the erosion of boundaries between peace and war, domestic and international, covert and overt, virtual and real in security threats.
• Younger acknowledges the rise of state threats, especially with Russia's actions, including attempts to murder people on UK soil.
• He supports the National Security Bill for its efforts to clarify ambiguous threats and criminalize activities that harm democracy.
• He mentions that many allies have similar measures in place, viewing them as uncontentious and overdue.
• The UK intelligence services rely heavily on international partnerships to combat terrorism and digital threats.
• Sharing large bulk datasets involves unavoidable risks despite safeguards.
• Sir Alex Younger served in Afghanistan, illustrating his perspective on risk management.
• The Serious Crime Act (SCA) captures intelligence exchange, potentially criminalizing it unintentionally.
• GCHQ and the role of security and intelligence coordinator are mentioned as historical contexts.
• CESSPIT acronym coined by Professor Sir David Omand refers to crime, espionage, sabotage, subversion perverting internet technology.
• North Korean Lazarus group took over $0.5 billion-worth of Ethereum currency from an exchange in March.
• Clause 13 of the Bill deals with engaging in conduct intending negative effects on the UK for or on behalf of a foreign power.
• Sir Alex Younger clarifies that 'carve-out' does not mean granting immunity for any criminal behavior.
• The UK's intelligence officers face a risk of facing criminal sanction for doing their job without a carve-out.
• Professor Sir David Omand supports the power in the Bill to address preparation for serious espionage or sabotage activity.
• The National Security Bill aims to address threats from foreign states that are not necessarily at war with the UK.
• Trade secrets and theft of intellectual property are well covered in the Bill, but online targeting presents challenges.
• An amendment would require an independent annual review of disinformation pushed online by hostile states.
• The Official Secrets Act was considered insufficient compared to terrorism powers.
• State actors are increasingly using advanced persistent threats (APT) techniques against UK institutions.
• During the covid pandemic, there were intrusions into networks of healthcare organizations like WHO by state-backed APTs.
• There is a need for new legislation to create a coherent framework for addressing sabotage and cyber-security issues.
• The session discusses challenges related to online harm, sabotage, misinformation, and disinformation.
• There are concerns about protecting intellectual property and economic value from state threats.
• The Bill criminalises trade secrets to protect against espionage.
• The session was ordered to be adjourned at 12:40 by Scott Mann.
• The session will reconvene on the same day at Two o'clock.