Part 1: Espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers Powers of search etc. Section 30: Offences under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007
Section 30 inserts an additional defence into Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 (SCA) which applies in the extra-territorial circumstances provided for in Schedule 4 of that Act . This ensures that individuals working for the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, GCHQ, and individuals carrying out intelligence functions of the Armed Forces, have a specific defence against the offences of encouraging or assisting crime in sections 44 to 46 of the SCA.
	Section 50 A(1) SCA (as inserted) restricts the defence to circumstances in which offences might be committed due to the extra-territorial application provided for at Schedule 4 of the SCA. The defence is available where, for example, the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) or the Armed Forces shared intelligence to assist the overseas activity of a trusted partner.
	Section 50A(2) and (3) make clear that the individual would have to raise evidence that their act was necessary for the proper exercise of a function of an intelligence service or the proper exercise of the functions of the Armed Forces relating to intelligence. Once the defence is raised, the prosecution would have the legal burden to disprove it.
	Under Section 50A(4), the head of each intelligence service is required to have arrangements in place to ensure that any conduct of its members, which would otherwise amount to an offence by virtue of Schedule 4 of the SCA, is necessary for the proper exercise of its functions. A similar requirement is placed on the Defence Council under section 50A(5) in relation to acts of a member of the Armed Forces or a civilian subject to service discipline (as defined in the Armed Forces Act 2006). The Secretary of State must consider such arrangements are satisfactory (section 50A(6)).
	Subsection 50A(7) provides relevant definitions for the purposes of the defence.