Part 1: Espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers Foreign power condition and foreign power threat activity Section 33: Foreign power threat activity and involvement in that activity
This section creates a definition of foreign power threat activity (including involvement in foreign power threat activity). This definition is used to set the scope and applicability of the powers of arrest without a warrant, financial and property investigation powers (under Part 1 of the Act) and the prevention and investigation measures (under Part 2 of the Act).
	Subsection (1) defines foreign power threat activity as being the commission, preparation, instigation, facilitation or the giving of support or assistance to the acts or threats set out in subsection (3). Subsection (1)(c) makes it clear that support or assistance must be in relation to the conduct covered by Section 33(1)(a), rather than support or assistance to unrelated activity. This ensures the provisions are available to counter activity for or on behalf of, or with the intention to benefit, a foreign power at an early stage and to take action against all those involved in that activity.
	Subsection (2) provides that activity is considered to be foreign power threat activity both in cases where a person is conducting a specific act or threat set out in subsection (3) or relevant acts and threats more generally. This ensures that the security and intelligence agencies can intervene at an early stage in a course of conduct where the individual’s final goal may not yet be apparent.
	The acts in subsection (3) include acts which constitute the following offences in this Act - obtaining or disclosing of protected information (section 1), obtaining, or disclosing trade secrets (section 2), assisting a foreign intelligence service (section 3), entering etc a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK (section 4), sabotage (section 12), foreign interference: general (section 13) and obtaining material benefits from a foreign intelligence service (section 17).
	Subsection (3) and (4) also bring into scope a range of broader acts or threats where the foreign power condition applies – namely serious violence against the person, endangering the life of another person or creating a serious risk to the health and safety of the public. This ensures the powers are applicable in relation to serious activities where the foreign power condition is met. The inclusion of threats of violence against the person, threats to endanger the life of a person and threats to create a serious risk to the health and safety of the public ensure the relevant provisions cover harmful activity such as a person threatening violence against a person to control their activities for or on behalf of a state.