Commentary on Sections Part 4: Miscellaneous Section 84: Assaults on foreign officers
161.The purpose of this section is to provide, in accordance with Article 42 of the Schengen Convention, that officers from abroad conducting surveillance under the new section 76A are treated in the same way as constables while in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland with respect to offences committed against them.
162.The modifications to the relevant Acts put the foreign officers on to the same footing as domestic officers, in that just as it is already an offence to assault or obstruct a constable or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, it shall also be an offence to assault or obstruct any foreign officer carrying out surveillance under section 76A of RIPA.