Thank you, Mr Speaker. With permission I will make a statement on the charging of 3 individuals under the National Security Act that took place on 17 May, and the further action the government is taking to counter national security threats.
Mr Speaker I want to thank the police, security and intelligence agencies, not just for their work on vital operations and investigations that are currently underway but for the dedication they show each day to defend our national security and keep our communities safe.
Their tireless work – often in the shadows, often in secret, often in great personal danger – is indispensable. I hope the whole House will join me in paying tribute to their service.
On Saturday 17 May, 3 Iranian nationals were charged with offences under the National Security Act 2023.
All 3 have been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service. Additional charges were brought in relation to engaging in conduct, including surveillance, reconnaissance and open research, with the intention to commit acts of serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom. The foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and these individuals are the first Iranian nationals to be charged under the National Security Act.
The criminal and national security investigations in these cases are ongoing, and the police and security services have my support in this vital work. These cases must now also progress through the criminal justice system and that means that until the trial there are limits on what we can discuss so as not to prejudice that process.
However, there are a series of grave, wider issues where I want to update the house on the stronger action the government is taking to strengthen our national security including new powers on state threats, further action on Iran and strengthening our border security to keep the public safe.
This is the first time there have been charges under the National Security Act linked to Iran, although the House will be aware that this comes against a backdrop of rising numbers of Iran-linked operations on UK soil where there have been repeated warnings by ministers, the police and our security and intelligence agencies. The Director General of MI5 said in October last year that the police and MI5 had responded to 20 Iran backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats.
So let me be clear, we will not tolerate any state backed threats on UK soil. The Iranian regime poses an unacceptable threat to our domestic security which cannot continue.
Following this charging decision, I can confirm that the Iranian Ambassador has been summoned.
And my Right Honourable Friend the Foreign Secretary is raising with the Iranian Foreign Minister in the strongest terms, that the UK will not accept any Iranian state threat activity in the UK.
As the Security Minister set out in March, we have placed the whole of the Iranian state on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme which is due to come into effect on 1 July.
The government has also introduced sanctions as part of efforts to systematically dismantle criminal networks and enablers that Iran uses to carry out its work – including the Foxtrot network, sanctioned last month.
International co-operation is critical in challenging Iranian transnational threats. That is why we will be convening ministerial counterparts from allied nations facing similar threats to discuss coordinated action.
But we need to go further in strengthening our powers to address national security threats.
The Security Minister and I have both warned of the increasing complexity of the threats we face. Threats from extremist and terrorist groups and individuals – including Islamist extremism and far right extremism – continue. And vigilance and action against those remains crucial.
But malign activities against us by or on behalf of foreign states have grown and the threats we face are more complex and intertwined.
MI5 state threats investigations have increased by nearly 50% in a year. Policing investigations into state threats – led by counter terrorism policing – are up fivefold since 2018.
As well as growing, those threats are also evolving – they are becoming more interconnected and more intertwined. The old boundaries between state threats, terrorists and organised criminals, are being eroded. And we have seen malign foreign state organisations seek to exploit any vulnerability from criminal networks to our cyber security to our borders to do us harm.
In our manifesto, we committed to stronger action on state based security threats.
And before entering government, the Foreign Secretary and I set out plans for the establishment of a joint unit to pursue and coordinate action.
I can announce that the new state threats joint unit is in place, with staff from across Whitehall, driving a broader approach across government, building new partnerships with industry and academia.
Last week, the Security Minister set out the conclusions of a review by the defending democracy taskforce into transnational repression – where foreign states attempt intimidation, surveillance and harassment of UK-based individuals including stronger support for those who are being targeted. This is criminal activity and will be treated as such because everyone in this country should be able to go about their daily lives freely and without fear.
We are clear that this is criminal activity and will be treated as such. Everyone in this country should be able to go about their daily lives freely and without fear. Threats will not be tolerated and we will support anyone at risk of such activity.
We have of course supported the National Security Act, rightly brought in by the previous government. But we need to go further.
That is why I commissioned Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, to examine further gaps in the national security legislation where counter terrorism powers could be emulated and particularly looking at proscribing powers where I have long raised concern that it was too difficult to apply existing powers for state and state-backed bodies
Today Mr Hall has published his review. I would like to thank him for working so swiftly and comprehensively.
He has concluded there are gaps in a series of areas – including on proscribing legislation where he identifies a series of legal difficulties in using powers that were designed to deal with terrorist groups for state and state-backed organisations such as the IRGC.
I can tell the House that we are committed to taking forward Mr Hall’s recommendations and we will draw up new powers modelled on counter terrorism powers in a series of areas to tackle these state threats.
And crucially I can tell the House we will create a new power of proscription to cover state threats – a power that is stronger than current national security act powers in allowing us to restrict the activity and operations of foreign state backed organisations in the UK, including new criminal offences for individuals who invite support for or promote the group in question and we will not hesitate to use it against organisations that pose a threat to UK residents because we will not stand for foreign state organisations seeking to escalate threats on UK soil.
Mr Speaker as confirmed at the weekend, the 3 individuals who have been charged came to the UK between 2016 and 2022 by lorry and small boat.
This government has made clear – border security is national security. That is why we are introducing new counter terrorism powers at the border. But let me also be clear that our border security needs to be strengthened.
Organised crime, malign state actors and extremists can all exploit any vulnerabilities.
So the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is introducing a wide range of counter terrorism style powers to pursue organised immigration crime and strengthen border investigations. We have introduced the Border Security Command which is drawing together security operations around our border, which have not been taken seriously enough before, modelled on the approach successive governments have taken to counter terrorism.
As part of our existing CT capabilities, security identity and criminal record checks are carried out on everyone who applies for a visa through our immigration system, on identified clandestine entries and on those who arrive by small boat – so that immigration and counter terrorism powers can then be used to address threats – including refusals, restrictions, tagging, heightened monitoring and immigration bail. But I have instructed officials to review those capabilities against the state threats as well as terrorism related risks we face so we can strengthen our security response alongside the new counter terrorism style border powers we are introducing.
We are also already reviewing our current response to criminality or threats in the asylum system, including the potential for greater use of a range of techniques and technology, and as well as the existing ability to revoke or effuse asylum.
Finally, Mr Speaker, in the face of this increasing range of hybrid threats to our national security, the Prime Minister has committed to publish a new national security strategy. That strategy is in development and will set out not just how our world leading police and security and intelligence agencies, but also how the whole of government and society, including businesses and communities; need to respond to these changing and complex threats.
National security is the first duty of government. It is the foundation of our Plan for Change. The threats we face are more intertwined than ever and our response needs to adapt. So together with our international allies, we need to face down the security threats and strengthen the powers and capabilities of the police and security services who work around the clock to investigate and disrupt those who mean us harm. Our agencies have the wholehearted support of this government because, Mr Speaker, in a volatile and uncertain world, their efforts could not matter more. I commend this statement to the House.
