Statements

The Government has today laid its response to the Committee’s 'China' Report, as it is obliged to do under the Memorandum of Understanding underpinning the Justice and Security Act 2013. The Committee will now consider the Government’s response to the 78 conclusions and recommendations contained in the Report.

However, the ISC Chairman, the Rt Hon. Sir Julian Lewis, said:

“I welcome this substantial attempt to respond to our Report. However, it is misleading repeatedly to imply - as the Government does - that our findings are outdated. Until two months before publication, we monitored all relevant developments and noted them throughout the Report. This was not difficult to do given the glacial pace at which the Government’s China policy developed.”

12:50, 14 September 2023

Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers MP Recusal from ISC Iran Inquiry

The Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers MP has decided to recuse herself from the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Inquiry into national security issues relating to Iran. Ms Villiers regularly makes public statements on Iran and is mindful of the constraints that being involved in the ISC’s Iran Inquiry would place on her ability to continue to do so. Ms Villiers will therefore not be involved in any stage of the Committee's Inquiry. (Any statements Ms Villiers therefore makes on Iran will be personal, rather than as a Member of the ISC.)

09:54, 19 July 2023

The Committee reiterates its deepest sympathies to the families of those affected by the Manchester Arena attack.

The Committee has thoroughly considered the Manchester Arena Inquiry Report Volume 3 which was issued on 2 March, and its related closed recommendations which were issued on 5 June. These raise important issues which will ensure that lessons are learned from the tragic events of 22 May 2017.

The Committee has noted the suggestion by Sir John Saunders, the Chairman of the Manchester Arena Inquiry, that the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament might conduct monitoring of his closed recommendations, and the Committee has considered whether it is the right body to do so. The Committee agrees with Sir John that it is important his recommendations must be implemented, and that an appropriate form of monitoring is essential to ensure that this happens.

In terms of monitoring Sir John's recommendations however, the Committee considers that its direct accountability to Parliament, and the constraints it operates under in terms of public reporting, mean that it cannot be transparent about its work – and this will frustrate those who are invested in this work being taken forward. The Committee has concluded therefore that, while it will seek to do all it can through the implementation of its own recommendations, it is not the right body to monitor those proposed by Sir John's Inquiry. Instead the Committee supports Sir John's suggestion that the Investigatory Powers Commissioner monitor his recommendations, or that the Inquiry team be reconvened to do so.

11:11, 10 July 2023

The ISC welcomes the publication of the third volume of the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

We express our deepest sympathies for the families whose lives have been permanently affected by this tragic event.

We will consider the Inquiry’s report thoroughly. We note Sir John Saunders’ statement that the ISC is the most suitable body to monitor any closed recommendations he might make. We will review those recommendations when he has finalised them, and - noting the wider remit of the Inquiry - will consider what further action by the ISC might be necessary.

13:12, 13 March 2023

The Committee notes that the Minister for the Cabinet Office has today made a written statement in respect of the appointment of Lord Lebedev to the House of Lords.

The Intelligence and Security Committee had requested information pertaining to Lord Lebedev's appointment. That request was made on a classified basis, in accordance with the Committee's statutory oversight of the intelligence and security agencies under the Justice and Security Act 2013.

It was completely independent of the parliamentary motion passed by the House of Commons on 29 March 2022 - since the ISC is not a Select Committee (notwithstanding its mis-description as such, in the Government's written statement) and its provisions are set down in law.

The information requested was not provided to us by the 28 April deadline mandated by the Committee (so as to align with the Parliamentary deadline). It was received only yesterday and the Committee is therefore not yet in a position to determine whether the information provided is sufficient, whether the response meets the statutory provisions which govern the Intelligence Community's obligations to the Committee, and whether the Committee will have further questions arising.

The Committee is surprised by the statement by the Minister for the Cabinet Office today which links the classified provision of information to the Committee with the entirely separate parliamentary process of the Government's response to the resolution of the House of Commons. So far as the ISC is concerned, at this stage our request for information should have remained a private - and classified - matter of oversight.

The Committee will be making no further comment on the information provided to it at this time.

16:23, 12 May 2022

Statement on Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement Act) 2022

We welcome today the long-awaited legislation on Economic Crimes.

As the Intelligence and Security Committee made very clear in its 'Russia' report, the UK has been welcoming Russian money for many years with few questions - if any - being asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth. When we sent our report, together with a detailed classified annex, to the Prime Minister over two years ago, we highlighted then that there was an urgent need for the UK Government to disrupt this illicit financial activity, and questioned the efficacy of the measures which were in place.

It is hoped now that this new legislation is at least the first step toward giving the authorities - and in particular the National Crime Agency which leads this effort - the necessary clout and greater powers to ensure the UK is no longer a safe haven for the oligarchy and their enablers.

17:15, 15 March 2022

10:53, 02 March 2021

13:52, 24 September 2020

15:08, 12 November 2017

08:40, 19 July 2019

12:26, 18 July 2019

On 6 March, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament announced that following its current Inquiry into Russia, its next Inquiry would be into national security issues relating to China. Amongst other issues, the Inquiry was to examine the role of Huawei in the UK's telecommunications infrastructure - and in particular to consider whether the lessons had been learned from the Committee's 2013 report on Foreign Involvement in the UK's Critical National Infrastructure, in which we originally reported our concerns.

The Committee has noted the recent press reporting on the Government's deliberations regarding a role for Huawei in the UK's 5G infrastructure. This is clearly a matter of very considerable Parliamentary and public interest, and the Committee will therefore now be prioritising this aspect of its Inquiry.

14:47, 25 April 2019

The Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve QC MP, has today issued the following statement:

"I have seen the allegations this morning that the US has censored our report on detention and rendition which we will be publishing on Thursday. I am - exceptionally - making a comment ahead of the publication of the reports because I believe that otherwise we risk attention being distracted from the key headlines in those reports.

The first point to make is that the Committee has agreed to redact just one word in over 300 pages to meet a US security concern. On Thursday I will happily point you to where those asterisks are in the report and you can see for yourself that it is not a central issue, nor a controversial issue. The Committee does not agree to redact material in its reports on grounds of embarrassment to anyone. So I can assure you that the US has not made wholesale redactions to the reports, as suggested.

The second point I wish to make is that I find it unacceptable that the Government has briefed the media on our reports before they are published. These are not the Government's reports to trail or leak as they wish. The Government is, exceptionally, given sight of the reports ahead of publication so that they can check there is nothing in them which would harm UK national security. The draft reports should have been kept on an exceptionally tight distribution within Government. It appears that that procedure has been abused in order to leak details of the reports, so as to draw the sting on Thursday.

I believe that the reports make a very strong statement, and I hope that attention will be rightly focused on that and there will be no further attempts to distract from it."

12:03, 26 June 2018

16:00, 27 April 2017

The Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve QC MP, has today issued the following statement:

"The Committee is aware of the allegations that the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, tasked GCHQ to 'wire tap' the now President of the United States, Donald Trump, during the 2016 US Presidential election.

First, I should make clear that the President of the United States is not able to task GCHQ to intercept an individual's communications.

Second, long-standing agreements between the Five Eyes countries means that the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand cannot ask each other to target each other's citizens or individuals that they cannot themselves target, or in any other way seek to circumvent their own or each other's legal and policy obligations.

Third, an individual can only be the target of interception by GCHQ under a warrant signed by a Secretary of State. Such warrants can only authorise action where it is necessary and proportionate for a valid national security purpose. It is inconceivable that those legal requirements could be met in the circumstances described.

I note GCHQ's public denial of the potentially damaging allegations against them. This was an unusual step by the Agency, but it clearly indicates the strength of feeling about this issue, and I echo that sentiment."

17:44, 17 March 2017

13:54, 09 June 2016

14:22, 04 November 2015

17:50, 29 October 2015

18:42, 24 February 2015

The Chairman of the ISC, the Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, has this morning issued the following statement: 

"None of the current controversy with which I am associated is relevant to my work as Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

However, I have today informed my colleagues that while I will remain a member of the Committee, I will step down from the Chairmanship.

The Committee is due to be dissolved in little over a month with the prorogation of Parliament for the forthcoming General Election.  The main substantive work which needs to be completed will be the publication of our Privacy and Security Report during March.

I do not want the work of the Committee and the publication of the Report to be, in any way, distracted or affected by controversy as to my personal position.  I have concluded, therefore, that it is better that this important work should be presided over by a new Chairman."

10:11, 24 February 2015

13:28, 11 February 2015

13:53, 17 December 2014

09:10, 17 October 2013

11:06, 17 July 2013

In response to media reports that GCHQ has been gathering data via a covert US Internet monitoring programme, the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, has tonight issued the following statement:

"The Intelligence and Security Committee is aware of the allegations surrounding data obtained by GCHQ via the US Prism programme. The ISC will be receiving a full report from GCHQ very shortly and will decide what further action needs to be taken as soon as it receives that information."

23:13, 07 June 2013

Following the publication of the Government's draft Communications Data Bill earlier today, the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, has issued the following statement:

“The Government has today published a draft Communications Data Bill which aims to update the current legislation that allows public bodies – including the intelligence and security Agencies and the police – to access information relating to communications data.  The Bill will now be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of Parliament.  Given the importance of communications data to the work undertaken by the intelligence Agencies, the ISC has begun its own investigation into this area.  We will take evidence and examine the rationale behind the proposals and how rigorous the safeguards are to ensure the privacy of individuals.”

12:46, 14 June 2012

12:46, 27 March 2012

Following today's announcement by the Secretary of State for Justice regarding the Detainee Inquiry, the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, has issued the statement below:

"On 5 September 2011, the ISC announced that it would be considering allegations made about the relationship between the UK security and intelligence Agencies and the Libyan security services, including both the nature and extent of the UK-Libya intelligence-sharing relationship and the rendition of Libyan nationals.

The Committee will, at its meeting tomorrow, be considering the implications of today’s statement on the Detainee Inquiry by the Secretary of State for Justice for its own investigation of rendition issues – bearing in mind the ongoing police investigations. 

The Committee’s investigation of the UK’s wider intelligence relationship with the Libyans (an issue which did not fall within the scope of the Detainee Inquiry) will continue."

13:01, 18 January 2012

The Green Paper on Justice and Security was laid before Parliament today by the Secretary of State for Justice. The Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, has issued the following statement:

"I strongly welcome the publication today of the Government’s Green Paper on Justice and Security.

The risk of our courts disclosing foreign intelligence material, which allies had presumed to be shared in confidence, is extremely concerning. This undermines the ‘control principle’ – a key facet of intelligence sharing relationships – and risks damaging our national security. Additional protection for intelligence material is urgently needed. Yet it is also crucial, in the interests of justice, that the courts have access to all the relevant material in forming their judgments. Striking the right balance between keeping secrets secret and ensuring fairness in our courts is at the heart of this important consultation. The Intelligence and Security Committee will examine the Government’s proposals in detail, and respond in due course.

The Green Paper also contains proposals for reform of the oversight arrangements for the UK intelligence community. I am pleased that the Government has accepted the vast majority of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s own proposals in its Green Paper published today. This is a strong endorsement of our desire to modernise and strengthen parliamentary oversight of the intelligence community in this country. If implemented in full, the ISC will become a Committee of Parliament with greater authority, effectiveness, resources and credibility. It will significantly enhance oversight of the United Kingdom intelligence community in a manner in which Parliament and the public can have full confidence. These are significant reforms which I hope will earn widespread support."

15:47, 19 October 2011