Part 1: Espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers Espionage etc Section 1: Obtaining or disclosing protected information
Subsection (1) provides that an offence is committed if a person obtains, copies, records, retains, discloses or provides access to protected information in circumstances where the person knows, or having regard to other matters known to them ought reasonably to know, their conduct is prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK and where the foreign power condition is met (see section 32). The term safety or interests of the UK is not defined but case-law has interpreted it as meaning, in summary, the objects of state policy determined by the Crown on the advice of Ministers (see the Court’s view in Chandler v Director Public Prosecutions (1964) AC 763).
	Hypothetical examples of where these conditions are met can be found below.
Example (1): where conduct is carried on for a foreign power
A person working for the police is asked by representatives of a foreign state to provide information to them on the identity of police officers who work with UK security and intelligence services and agrees to do so, and discloses the names, in return for a financial reward.
Example (2): where the person intends the conduct to benefit a foreign power
A person working for a UK intelligence agency has information on intelligence officers operating in a foreign state and offers to provide this information to that foreign state in return for a substantial financial sum. The foreign state does not commission or buy the information and, in fact, notifies the UK authorities who intervene and arrest the individual.
Example (3): where the person intends to disclose information for financial gain or due to dissatisfaction
A person working as a contractor for the Ministry of Defence discloses classified information on a defence system that they retained from their work on it to a foreign state. Their act is motivated by past grievances and dissatisfaction with the UK. In disclosing this information, they understand that it would harm the UK’s safety and interests, and that it would benefit a foreign state.
	Subsection (2) defines "protected information" for the purpose of the offence in subsection (1). The term means any information (e.g., raw data), document (e.g., a report for a committee), or other article (e.g., a prototype, model, or memory stick), which either is, or could reasonably be expected to be, subject to any type of restriction of access for the purpose of protecting the safety and interests of the UK. Protected information includes, but is not limited to, classified material. Other types of protected information include non-classified information only accessible in a building with security measures or restricted access (e.g., a government building), or information that is password protected or encrypted. Section 34 makes clear that information includes information about tactics, techniques and procedures.
Under this provision, it is not necessary that access to the information, document or other article is restricted, it is sufficient that it is reasonable to expect that it is restricted. This means that the protection of the offence is not limited where reasonable protective and safety standards have for some reason failed (e.g., if against departmental guidelines a government contractor has failed to take appropriate care of sensitive information).
	Subsection (3) provides that this offence captures activity both in the UK or elsewhere. This means that the offence applies to, for example, UK personnel working for the Government abroad, locally engaged staff working for the Government abroad and people who use cyber means to access protected information remotely.
	Subsection (4) provides the maximum available penalty applicable on conviction of the offence: namely imprisonment for life or a fine (or both). The inclusion of a fine is in recognition that the offence can be committed by bodies corporate and other similar entities (see section 36).
	Subsection (5) defines the activity that constitutes "retaining" or "disclosing" protected information as outlined within the offence with subsection (1)(a).