London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Foreign agent scheme omitted from UK national security bill

Foreign agent scheme omitted from UK national security bill

Plans to require lobbyists to register their work for other countries delayed as key details yet to be worked out
Plans to require lobbyists, PR firms and other professionals in the UK to register their work for Russia, China or any other foreign country have been unexpectedly left out of the national security bill published on Wednesday.

Insiders said key decisions about what activities would have to be registered had yet to be taken, meaning the foreign agent scheme will have to be introduced via a government amendment to the bill in a few weeks.

A broad definition could require universities and thinktanks to disclose sources of foreign state funding, but there has been concern that simply receiving money from abroad does not turn an organisation into a lobbyist for a hostile state.

Whitehall sources said the delay had been partly caused by the war in Ukraine. “Some of the people working on the policy ended up working on other things,” one said, and new ideas had emerged in response to the Russian invasion.

There have been calls for the UK to introduce a two-tier system, imposing different requirements on Russia, China and Iran and other states deemed to be hostile to the UK, and a lower requirement on allies.

The Conservative MP Bob Seely discussed options for a foreign agent registration scheme in a pamphlet last year and proposed a differential approach. “The threat to democratic transparency from Chinese state entities or Russian oligarchs is greater than, for example, the New Zealand tourist board,” he said.

The planned foreign agent registration scheme was billed as a key element of the national security bill, the biggest revision to espionage legislation since the late 1980s, and highlighted in the past 24 hours by Downing Street and ministers.

Overnight, Priti Patel, the home secretary, had said the bill would require “individuals to register certain arrangements with foreign governments, to deter or disrupt state threats activity in the UK”, but she made no reference to the delay.

On Wednesday officials declined to say which individuals would be covered, and whether they would include lawyers or academics working on behalf of a foreign state as well as lobbyists and public relations agencies. The situation would become clear when the amendment was published, they said.

The registration scheme is based on a long-established system in the US, introduced in the 1930s in response to concerns about antisemitic activities on behalf of Nazi Germany. Australia adopted its own system in 2018 in response to concerns about covert Chinese influence.

Britain has also become concerned about Chinese espionage on its territory. This has been heavily focused on obtaining trade and commercial secrets, but there are signs that Beijing has been seeking political influence too.

In January MI5 circulated a rare interference alert, warning that Christine Lee, an Anglo-Chinese lawyer, was seeking to improperly influence MPs and peers on behalf of China’s ruling Communist party. However, Lee was not subject to any criminal prosecution, despite the allegation she was a Chinese agent.

The national security bill will not be retrospective but is intended to allow for the prosecution of similar cases in future by updating the definition of espionage. Much of Britain’s official secrets legislation dates back to acts passed in 1911, 1920 and 1939 and relies on archaic terms, criminalising the passing of sketches to the enemy.

If the bill is passed, anybody found guilty of disclosing “protected information” that is prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK to a foreign power could be sentenced to life imprisonment. Disclosing trade secrets or helping a foreign intelligence agency could lead to a 14 years in prison, and for the first time it will be illegal to be a covert foreign spy.

However, there will be no government attempt to revise the 1989 Official Secrets Act, which covers the unauthorised disclosure of classified government information, including by whistleblowers, because there was no public consensus on how to proceed.

Campaigners had called for the introduction of a statutory public interest defence to protect leakers – people such as the former civil servant Clive Ponting – who in the past have been prosecuted. But Whitehall sources said such reform was opposed by the intelligence agencies and so any reform of the 1989 act would have to wait.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×