Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to (a) update or (b) replace the Official Secrets Act.

The National Security Bill, currently before Parliament, will update the Official Secrets Acts (OSAs) 1911, 1920 and 1939 which relate primarily to espionage.

The Government is considering the case for the potential future legislative reform of OSA 1989, which relates to unlawful disclosures of Government information. It is important that this work runs in lockstep with other crucial work the Government is doing to strengthen whistle-blowing practices and transparency.