The Home Office ‘Consultation on legislation to counter state threats’ sets out how the UK will tackle hostile activity by states, such as cyber attacks, threats to infrastructure, theft of information or interference in the democratic process. It proposes targeting individual activity as well as amending the Official Secrets Act.
Responding to the consultation, however, the Bar Council highlighted the ‘bewildering’ failure to address either how the proposed measures might affect individuals with diplomatic immunity or how to deal with jurisdictional issues where cyber attacks originate from outside the UK.
The Bar Council warned there was no reason to modify the Official Secrets Act. It also highlighted the absence of any suggestion on sanctions against hostile acts.
