| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision about threats to national security from espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers; about the extra-territorial application of Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007; for the registration of certain arrangements with, and activities of, specified persons and foreign powers; about the award of damages in proceedings relating to national security and the payment of damages at risk of being used for the purposes of terrorism; about the availability of legal aid to persons connected with terrorism; to amend the Terrorism Act 2000; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2023 c. 32 |
| Introduced by | Priti Patel, Home Secretary (Commons) The Lord Sharpe of Epsom, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lords) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 July 2023 |
| Commencement | 20 December 2023 (in part) |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | Terrorism Act 2000 |
| Repeals/revokes | |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the National Security Act 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The National Security Act 2023 (c. 32) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced new measures intended to strengthen United Kingdom national security against espionage, interference in the political system, sabotage, and assassination.[1]
In a press release, the government stated that "The new powers will help ensure that the UK remains the hardest operating environment for malign activity undertaken by foreign actors", quoting MI5 Director General, Ken McCallum as saying "The National Security Act is a game changing update to our powers. We now have a modern set of laws to tackle today’s threats."[2]
The core measures put in place by the act came into force on 20 December 2023 and were described at the time as "the most significant reform of espionage law in a century".[3]
The act repeals and replaces the Official Secrets Act 1911, Official Secrets Act 1920 and Official Secrets Act 1939.[4]
- ^ "Collection – National Security Act 2023". GOV.UK. 12 July 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
becomeslawwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "New national security laws come into force". GOV.UK. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Scott, Paul F. (2024). "'State threats', security, and democracy: the National Security Act 2023". Legal Studies. 44 (2): 260–276. doi:10.1017/lst.2023.39. ISSN 0261-3875.