Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the power to designate an entity involved in foreign power threat activity in accordance with the National Security Act 2023 differs from the power to proscribe an organisation in accordance with the Terrorism Act 2000; and what extra powers, if any, are available to them in respect of proscribed organisations that are unavailable in respect of designated entities.

The National Security (State Threats) Act 2026 provides a power for the Home Secretary to designate bodies involved in foreign power threat activity, where it is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.

The designation power and its associated offences are modelled on terrorism proscription. However, the power to designate is fundamentally different to proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000 in the type of harm it addresses and given the different nature of state bodies and terrorist organisations.

This difference is reflected in the offences available under each regime. There is no membership offence in the new Act, reflecting the need to comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.

The new support offence captures, activity where the person engaging in it does so for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK. This reflects the fact that there will be some cases where UK persons need to have legitimate dealings with a state entity. The ‘prohibited purpose’ test protects legitimate conduct without creating loopholes that can be exploited by hostile actors.

In addition, the designated body condition unlocks the offences and powers in the National Security Act 2023, allowing them to be used against designated bodies and those who support them. That means that those carrying out state threat activities such as espionage and sabotage for designated bodies will now feel the full force of the law, including sentences of up to life imprisonment.