Clause 20
Counter-Terrorism Bill
6:14 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
As we have discussed, the central purpose of clause 20 is to provide clarity and reassurance on the fact that it is right to give information to the intelligence and security services to enable them to undertake their vital work. Amendment No. 69 would remove subsection (4) from the clause, as the hon. and learned Gentleman has indicated. The purpose of subsection (4) is to make it clear that previous disclosure of information to the intelligence and security services or by the agencies would not be unlawful following the introduction of the specific gateways provided by the Bill, but it is about exemptions. Until now, the reliance has been on common law, perfectly reasonably and legally, so it is not about retrospectivity or about seeking exemptions for what has gone before.
However, it would be perfectly reasonable to ask whether subsection (4) means that the intelligence and security agencies are currently engaged in illegal activity. The hon. and learned Gentleman has suggested that that might be questioned, but I am not suggesting for a moment that that is a perverse interpretation.