Senior UK officials said the country will seek to "modernize" its counterintelligence laws after a parliamentary report criticized the government for failing to stop Russian espionage operations.
A report by the British Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee was released earlier this week. The report focuses on Russia and explains that British intelligence agencies have been unable to thwart psychological operations by Russian agencies which have often sought to influence British domestic and foreign policy. Read the full report by clicking on LINK.
Last Wednesday the Minister for Security, James Brokenshire, dismissed the report's findings where a number of British Conservative administrations argue that everything was done to avoid investigating Russia's spying activities. Brokenshire said the Kremlin's activities remained one of Britain's "top national security priorities". During the same meeting, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told members of parliament that "no country in the western world is more vigilant in opposing Russia"Of the United Kingdom.
Some government officials have said that the government is now planning to implement a new espionage bill, which is currently being drafted and which should give authorities more powers to combat foreign espionage. Additionally, Whitehall is considering initiating a large-scale review of the Secret Agents Act and reformulating it to include a foreign agent registration clause. The proposed clause would look like Foreign Agent Registration Act in the United States, which requires those working or lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, except accredited diplomats, to register with the authorities.
This would allow British authorities to arrest, deport or imprison those who have been found working on behalf of foreign powers, even if they are never caught committing espionage or transmitting classified information to a foreign entity.