Official Secrets Act warning sign, Foulness.

The Official Secrets Act is any of several Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament for the protection of official information, mainly related to national security. The latest revision is Official Secrets Act 1989 (1989 chapter 6), which removed the public interest defence by repealing section 2 of Official Secrets Act 1911. This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that bodys existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707. ... This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland for the years up to its dissolution in 1800. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1707-1719. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1720-1739. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1740-1759. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1760-1779. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1780-1799. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1800-1819. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1820-1839. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1840-1859. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1860-1879. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1880-1899. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1900-1919. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1920-1939. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1940-1959. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1960-1979. ... This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1980-1999. ... This is an list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to the present. ... This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... The is a list of Church of England Measures which are church legislation Church of England. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (427x640, 82 KB) © Nat Brocking http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (427x640, 82 KB) © Nat Brocking http://www. ... Foulness is an island on the east coast of Essex in England. ... In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in orange and red—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ... Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ...

People working with sensitive information are commonly required to sign a statement to the effect that they agree to abide by the restrictions of the Official Secrets Act. This is popularly referred to as "signing the Official Secrets Act". Signing this has no effect on which actions are legal as the act is not a contract. As the act is law individuals are bound by it whether or not they have signed it. Signing it is intended more as a reminder to the person that they are under such obligations. To this end, it is common to sign this statement both before and after a period of employment that involves access to secrets. Sensitive information is knowledge that might give someone an advantage if revealed to persons not entitled to know it. ...

History and Function of 'Duress of Circumstance'

Terms of the 1911 Act

The act applies in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and in overseas crown territories and colonies. It also applies to British subjects anywhere else in the world. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Motto: (Welsh for Wales for ever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by... Motto: (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (De facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (De facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office suspended... The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. ...

• Section 1 - spying. The section is very broadly drafted, and if spying is proved by the prosecution then the section specifically puts the burden of proof on the defendant to show that he acted with innocent motives. The maximum sentence is 14 years in prison. British spy George Blake was sentenced to a total of 42 years for offences under this section.
• Section 7 - harbouring spies. 2 years.
• Section 8 - prosecutions under this act require the permission of the Attorney General.
• Section 9 - search warrants. Very unusually, this section gives senior police officers (of the rank superintendent) the power to issue a search warrant in an emergency, if there is no time to obtain one from a judge.

George Blake (born Georg Behar, November 11, 1922) is a former British spy who was actually a double agent for the Soviets. ... Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales. ... Superintendent (Supt. ...

Terms of the 1920 Act

• Section 1 - wearing false uniforms, making false statements, forging official documents, impersonating people, keeping documents or codes etc. without authorisation, and other offences. All punishable by 2 years in prison.
• Section 2 - a specific rule of evidence in prosecutions under section 1 of the 1911 Act. Communicating with a foreign agent is admissible as evidence that the defendant intended to help an enemy.
• Section 3 - misleading or obstructing a police officer or soldier on duty at a prohibited place. ("Prohibited place" is defined at length by section 3 of the 1911 Act.) 2 years.
• Section 6 - refusing to cooperate with a police investigation into a suspected offence under section 1 of the 1911 Act. 2 years.
• Section 7 - attempting, inciting, or aiding or abetting an offence under the 1911 or 1920 acts. This section also makes it an offence to prepare to commit an offence under either act. This is much wider than ordinary British attempt law.
• Section 8 - sets the penalties for the offences under both acts.

An accessory is a person who assists in or conceals a crime, but does not actually participate in the commission of the crime. ... The crime of attempt occurs when a person does an act amounting to more than mere preparation for a criminal offense, with specific intent to commit a crime, if that act tends but fails to effect the commission of the offense intended. ...

Terms of the 1989 Act

The act applies in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and in overseas crown territories and colonies. Unusually, the terms of the act apply to affected persons (who are generally employees of the British government) wherever they are in the world. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Motto: (Welsh for Wales for ever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by... Motto: (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (De facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (De facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office suspended... The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. ... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ...

• Section 1 - disclosure of security and intelligence information. It applies only to members of the security and intelligence services, and to others who work with security and intelligence information (and who have been informed that they are affected by section 1).
• Section 2 - disclosure of defence information. This section applies only to crown servants and government contractors (defined in section 12)
• Section 3 - disclosure of information concerning international relations. This section applies only to crown servants and government contractors.
• Section 4 - disclosure of law enforcement information which would assist a criminal or the commission of a crime. This section applies only to crown servants and government contractors.
• Section 5 - further disclosure or publication of information obtained in contravention of other sections of the act. It allows, for example, the prosecution of newspapers or journalists who publish secret information leaked to them by a crown servant in contravention of section 3. This section applies to everyone, regardless of whether they are a government employee, or whether they have signed the act.
• Section 6 - secret information belonging to foreign governments or international organisations. This section is intended to protect secrets shared by foreign governments and those of international organisations such as NATO and Interpol.
• Section 7 - defines the circumstances under which a disclosure of secret information is officially published. It is not a crime to disclose information that has been officially published according to the mechanism described in this section.
• Section 8 - makes it a crime for a crown servant or government contractor to retain information beyond their official need for it, and obligates them to properly protect secret information from accidential disclosure.
• Section 9 - limits the circumstances under which a prosecution under the act may take place. Prosecutions under section 4 require the permission of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or his equivalent in Northern Ireland. Prosecutions under other sections require the permission of the Attorney General or his equivalent in Northern Ireland.
• Section 10 - sets the penalties for contravening the act. Persons convicted under sections 4,5, and 8 are subject to six months in prison and a fine; persons convicted under other sections are subject to two years imprisonment and a fine.
• Section 11 - amends existing police legislation, making contraventions of this act arrestable offences and allowing for the issuance of search warrants.
• Section 12 - defines who is a crown servant and government contractor. This includes civil servants, members of the government, members of the armed forces and their reserve equivalents (including the Territorial Army), police officers, and employees and contract employees of government departments and agencies defined by the Home Secretary.
• Section 15 - makes it a crime for British citizens and crown servants to disclose information abroad which would be illegal for them to do so in the UK. This is intended to cover espionage (where someone travels to a foreign country and discloses secret information to a foreign power) and cases where someone travels to a foreign country and discloses secret information, perhaps to a newspaper. The terms of this section do not apply to disclosures covered by sections 4,5, and 8.

Sections (12,13,14, and 16) are present in the act for technical reasons. The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), more commonly known as MI6 (originally Military Intelligence [section] 6), or Her Majestys Secret Service or just the Secret Service, is the British external security agency. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... Interpol logo INTERPOL (or International Criminal Police Organization) was created in 1923 to assist international criminal police co-operation. ... The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. ... Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... In the United Kingdom the Territorial Army is a part of the British Army composed of reserve units, or part-time soldiers. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department, known as the Home Secretary, is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order (except in Scotland). ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining information about an organization or a society that is considered secret or confidential (spying) without the permission of the holder of the information. ...

In order for a crime to be committed, the following conditions must apply:

1. the disclosure must not be by means permitted in section 7
2. the person making the disclosure must know, or should know, that their disclosure is unauthorised
3. the disclosure must cause harm to the UK or its interests, or it could reasonably be believed that harm could occur, and
4. the person making the disclosure must know, or should know, that such harm could occur

The sections pertaining to crown servants, intelligence officers, and government contractors apply only to information obtained by that person in the course of their official duties; these sections do not apply if the information was obtained by other means (although section 5 would apply).

It is not a defence under the act that the disclosure is in the national or public interest.

Proposed Revisions

The ISC annual report for 2005-2006 on UK intelligence services states: ISC can refer to: Companies or institutions: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, a (defunct) Unix vendor International Speedway Corporation, the owner of numerous American racetracks including Daytona USA. Internet Systems Consortium, an organization that develops Internet software (previously known as Internet Software Consortium) Internet Storm Center, a Cooperative Cyber Threat Monitor and...

"Official Secrets Act 113. The Home Office has bid for a legislative slot in the next session to amend the Official Secrets Act 1989. (At the time of publication it was still awaiting confirmation of its place in the timetable.) The Home Office has informed the Committee that, in its view, the proposed Bill should remove the common law defence of ‘duress of circumstance’ in order to address unauthorised disclosure by members, or former members, of the intelligence and security Agencies. The Bill should also put an element of the associated ‘authorisation to disclose’ procedure onto a statutory footing and increase penalties. This proposal has yet to receive policy clearance across Whitehall." (emphasis added)

The full report can be found here: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reports/intelligence/annualir0506.pdf

Other countries

The phrase official secrets act may also be used to refer to statutes of a similar nature in other countries such as India's Official Secrets Act 1923. Canada has similar legislation titled the Security of Information Act (which was created in the wake of September 11th 2001 to replace the vaguely worded Official Secrets Act [1]. The U.S. also has several laws, see Espionage Act. The Official Secrets Act 1923 is Indias anti-espionage act held over from British colonisation. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... The Espionage Act was passed by the 65th United States Congress on June 15, 1917, during World War I. This act made it a crime, punishable by a $10,000 fine and 20 years in jail, for a person to convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere...

In the Republic of Ireland the Official Secrets Act, 1963, repealed previous British legislation of 1911 and 1920. The Official Secrets Act, as amended, applies to all civil servants and potentially anyone within the state. A suit may only be instigated at the approval of the Attorney General of Ireland, additionally proceedings may occur in camera but the verdict and any sentence must occur in public. The civil service (an stát-sheirbhís in Irish) of the Republic of Ireland consists of two broad components, the Civil Service of the Government and the Civil Service of the State. ... The Attorney General (Irish: An Ard-Aighne) is the official adviser to the Irish Government in matters of law. ... In camera (Latin: in chamber) is a legal term meaning in secret. It applies to court cases (or portions thereof) to which the public are not admitted. ...

Malaysia has an Official Secrets Act (also referred to as the OSA) prohibiting the collection, possession or distribution of information marked as an official secret — an action which can be made by any public officer. The certification of a document as an official secret is not subject to judicial review, and a violation of the act is punishable with between one and seven years' imprisonment. The act has been controversial for its use to silence dissent and stifling anti-corruption activities.^[1] Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or for the violation of basic principles of justice. ...

New Zealand had a 1951 Official Secrets Act. It was replaced by the Official Information Act in 1983.

See also

• Al Jazeera bombing memo
• Clive Ponting, whose successful Public Interest defence (to a prosecution under the 1911 Act) led to that clause being removed in the 1989 revision.
• David Shayler, former MI5 agent prosecuted under the Act after passing documents to the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
• O'Connor - Keogh official secrets trial
• Richard Tomlinson, former MI6 agent imprisoned in 1997 for breaking the 1989 Act, by attempting to publish a book detailing his career.
• Katherine Gunn, Former GCHQ translator arrested under the act whose case was later dropped by the government.

The Al Jazeera bombing memo is an unpublished memorandum made within the British government which purports to be the minutes of a discussion between United States President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. ... Clive Ponting is a British writer and academic. ... David Shayler talking at an anti-war meeting at Sheffield University David Shayler born 24 December 1965 is a former officer of the British Security Service (MI5) who was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act after passing documents to the Mail on Sunday newspaper in August 1997. ... Current MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London The Security Service, usually called MI5, is the British counter-intelligence and security agency. ... The Daily Mail and its Sunday edition the Mail on Sunday are British newspapers, first published in 1896. ... Leo OConnor and David Keogh have been charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act in the United Kingdom. ... Richard Tomlinson (born 1963) is a New Zealand-born former British MI6 officer who was famously imprisoned in 1997 for breaking the 1989 Official Secrets Act by attempting to publish a book detailing his career. ... The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), more commonly known as MI6 (originally Military Intelligence Section 6), or the Secret Service, is the United Kingdom external security agency. ... Katherine Gunn was charged under the official secrets act for revealing that the United Nations was being bugged. ... The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) (previously named the Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS)) is the main British intelligence service providing signals intelligence (SIGINT). ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Puah, Pauline (Sept. 19, 2006). OSA stays, says Nazri. Malaysia Today.

Malaysia Today is a Malaysian news website. ...

External links

• Official Secrets Act 1989 (official text from Office of Public Sector Information, formerly HMSO)
• BBC News: Troubled history of Official Secrets Act
• Security of Information Act (Canada)