Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to publicise the continuing obligations of discharged service personnel under the Official Secrets Act.

Obligations to the Official Secret Acts is lifelong and Personnel are reminded of this upon their departure from Defence. Ministry of Defence (MOD) works with Defence Industry to ensure that these reminders continue for those personnel that seek future employment in the private sector.

In relation to the recent threat alert regarding the threat alert on RAF pilots being recruited to train Chinese fighter pilots, we have no evidence that anyone has breached the high threshold of the OSA, but if any evidence were to be forthcoming, we would not hesitate to bring criminal charges. The Department takes this matter extremely seriously and are actively taking measures to deter future recruitment. We are engaging with the individuals already involved to ensure they are fully aware of the risk of prosecution under the Officials Secrets Act.

In cases where the MOD has identified personnel who may be tempted by the offer, we have undertaken a range of measures to remind them of their obligations under the Official Secrets Act, as well as taking action to mitigate any potential damage. By going public, we want to encourage increased reporting of any approaches and to deter anyone who may be considering an offer. Current serving personnel are also being given unequivocal advice about the unacceptability of such activity.

Additionally, we have issued an alert to the UK Defence Industry to make them aware, requesting that they communicate the threat to their personnel, to ensure that the alert is as widely disseminated as possible to any potential recruitment targets.