UK journalists and NGOs risk terrorism prosecutions under new security bill

Key facts

• New UK National Security (State Threats) Bill could criminalize journalists and NGO workers.
• The bill allows the Home Secretary to designate state-backed organizations as threats to UK safety and interests.
• Offenses include 'support, assist and obtain material benefits,' including information, from designated groups.
• Potential sentences for offenses under the bill can be up to 14 years.
• Critics argue the bill lacks explicit safeguards for journalists and could be used to restrict protest rights.

New national security legislation in the UK, the National Security (State Threats) Bill, is nearing parliamentary approval and has raised concerns among experts that it could lead to terrorism prosecutions for British foreign correspondents and NGO workers.

The bill grants the Home Secretary broad authority to designate any state-backed organization deemed prejudicial to the UK's safety and interests as a threat. Critics, including former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation David Anderson, warn that the bill's vague language and lack of explicit safeguards could result in journalists and NGO staff facing up to 14-year prison sentences for engaging with designated groups, even for obtaining information.

The legislation criminalizes individuals who 'support, assist and obtain material benefits,' including information, from groups classified as terrorist organizations. It also removes the 'reasonable excuse' defense for such offenses. While the Home Office maintains that legitimate journalistic activities and diplomatic engagement are protected, critics like Anderson point out the absence of specific protections for reporters and NGOs in the bill's text.

Further concerns have been raised by MP Jeremy Corbyn and others regarding the bill's broadly defined terms like 'foreign power threat activity' and 'expressing support,' which they fear could be used to curtail the right to protest. Corbyn cited the recent arrests of over 100 individuals under terrorism legislation for supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action as an example of how such laws can be applied.