§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statutory restrictions are placed on individuals instructing legal representatives in cases brought under the Official Secrets Act. [152320]
§ Paul GogginsUnder section 1(1) of the Official Secrets Act 1989 it is an offence for a member or ex-member of the security and intelligence services to disclose without lawful authority any information relating to security or intelligence obtained through their official position. This could include unauthorised disclosure to his or her legal representative. In cases where other Official Secrets Act provisions apply, the question of whet her a person must seek authorisation to disclose will depend on whether the disclosure is likely to or will cause damage as set out in the relevant provisions of the Act.
There is no specific provision in the Act authorising disclosure of information to a legal representative as this would defeat the objective of the Act. However, the authorising entity—usually the employer organisation—will not unreasonably withhold authorisation to disclose to a legal representative information relevant to any criminal charge. The authorisation process itself is subject to judicial review.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were(a) arrested. (b) charged and (c) convicted under the Official Secrets Act in each year since 1997. [152322]
§ Mr. BlunkettArrest data is not collected centrally at the level of detail requested.
The available information, relating to persons proceeded against at the magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts under the Official Secrets Act 1911 and 1989 is shown in the table. It is not possible from the data held centrally, to identify summary offences under the Official Secrets Act 1920.
Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn. 1121W
Number of persons proceeded against at the magistrates' courts found guilty at all courts under the Official Secrets Act 1911 and England and Wales 1997 to 20021 Proceeded against Found guilty2 1997 1 1 1998 2 1 1999 — 1 2000 3 — 2001 — — 2002 1 2 1These data are on the principal offence. 2Persons found guilty may exceed the number proceeded against in some prosecution may have taken place in an earlier year.