|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
| For other Amendment(s) see the following page(s) of Supplement to Votes:
|
|
| |
| |
| Serious Crime Bill [Lords], As Amended
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| | |
| | |
| | To move the following Clause— |
|
| | | “Investigation of crime: journalistic and privileged material |
|
| | (1) | After section 22(5B) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 |
|
| | (obtaining and disclosing communications data) insert— |
|
| | “(5C) | An authorisation granted or notice given under subsection (3), (3B) or (4) |
|
| | for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime may not authorise or |
|
| | require any activity which is likely to result in journalistic source |
|
| | information or privileged information being obtained or disclosed, unless |
|
| | a judge has permitted the grant of the authorisation or the giving of the |
|
| | notice in accordance with section 22A. |
|
| | (5D) | For the purposes of this section “journalistic source information” means |
|
| | information which identifies, or might reasonably be expected to lead to |
|
| | the identification of, the source of confidential journalistic material, |
|
| | within the meaning given by section 100 of the Police Act 1997. |
|
| | (5E) | For the purposes of this section “privileged information” means— |
|
| | (a) | information amounting to or contained in matters subject to legal |
|
| | privilege within the meaning given by section 98 of the Police |
|
| | |
| | (b) | confidential personal information, within the meaning given by |
|
| | section 99 of that Act, acquired or created in the course of, or |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
| | otherwise obtained in connection with, a person‘s acting as a |
|
| | minister of religion, as a healthcare professional or as a Member |
|
| | of the House of Commons.” |
|
| | (2) | After section 22 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 insert— |
|
| | “22A | Judicial protection of journalistic and privileged material |
|
| | (1) | This section applies where— |
|
| | (a) | a person wishes to grant an authorisation or give a notice under |
|
| | section 22(3), (3B) or (4) for the purpose of preventing or |
|
| | |
| | (b) | the authorisation or notice is likely to result in journalistic source |
|
| | information or privileged information (as defined in section |
|
| | 22(5D) and (5E)) being obtained or disclosed. |
|
| | (2) | The person may apply to a Circuit Judge for permission to grant the |
|
| | authorisation or to give the notice. |
|
| | (3) | The application must— |
|
| | |
| | (b) | set out the grounds on which it is made; |
|
| | (c) | be made on notice to any person to whom the authorisation or |
|
| | notice would be granted or given or who might reasonably be |
|
| | expected to be required to comply with it, unless the applicant |
|
| | certifies that there is reason to believe that giving notice under |
|
| | this paragraph might seriously prejudice a criminal |
|
| | |
| | (d) | comply with any other provision, including as to timing, made by |
|
| | |
| | (4) | A judge may give permission under this section only if satisfied that— |
|
| | (a) | the grant of the authorisation or the giving of the notice is |
|
| | necessary for the purposes of the prevention or detection of |
|
| | |
| | (b) | obtaining the data in question by the conduct authorised or |
|
| | required by the authorisation or notice is proportionate to what is |
|
| | sought to be achieved by so obtaining the data; and |
|
| | (c) | it is right to give permission, having regard to the importance of |
|
| | |
| | (i) | protecting the confidentiality of journalists’ sources; |
|
| | (ii) | maintaining legal professional privilege; or |
|
| | (iii) | protecting the confidentiality of personal information in |
|
| | the circumstances specified in section 22(5E)(b). |
|
| | (5) | It is an offence for a person who is given notice of an application under |
|
| | this section to conceal, destroy, alter or dispose of the material to which |
|
| | the application relates except with the permission of a Circuit Judge; and |
|
| | (a) | this subsection ceases to apply if the application is dismissed or |
|
| | withdrawn or if an authorisation or notice granted or given in |
|
| | reliance on this section has been complied with; and |
|
| | (b) | a person who is guilty of an offence under this subsection is |
|
| | |
| | (i) | on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term |
|
| | not exceeding two years, to a fine or both; or |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
| | (ii) | on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the |
|
| | |
| | Member’s explanatory statement
|
|
| | This Clause would provide for judicial oversight for police and other authorities’ access to |
|
| | communications data which might involve the identification of journalist sources, as |
|
| | recommended by the Interception of Communications Commissioner. It provides the same level of |
|
| | protection for legally privileged and medically privileged communications and for |
|
| | communications between people and their ministers of religion or their MP. |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| | |
| | |
| | To move the following Clause— |
|
| | | “Code of practice on investigatory powers: journalistic and privileged |
|
| | |
| | (1) | The Secretary of State must ensure that any code of practice under section 71 of |
|
| | the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 that deals (expressly or |
|
| | otherwise) with the use of powers under that Act in relation to the prevention or |
|
| | detection of serious crime, includes provisions designed to protect the public |
|
| | |
| | (a) | the confidentiality of journalists’ sources; |
|
| | (b) | legal professional privilege; and |
|
| | (c) | the confidentiality of personal information obtained in connection with a |
|
| | person’s acting as a minister of religion, as a healthcare professional or |
|
| | as a Member of the House of Commons. |
|
| | (2) | In complying with subsection (1) the Secretary of State must— |
|
| | (a) | consult the Interception of Communications Commissioner appointed |
|
| | under section 57(1) of that Act; and |
|
| | (b) | have regard to any relevant report of an inquiry submitted by that |
|
| | Commissioner to the Prime Minister.” |
|
| | Member’s explanatory statement
|
|
| | This new Clause provides that the RIPA Code of Practice includes provisions which protect the |
|
| | public interest in the confidentiality of journalists’ sources and the other privileged |
|
| | |
| |
|