U.K. to Publish Draft Security and Investment Law on Wednesday

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. is set to publish a draft law that would protect British assets from foreign buyers when there are national security implications.

The National Security & Investment Bill will be introduced to the House of Commons on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the plan, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the legislation isn’t yet public.

The bill is intended to cover deals in sectors such as defense and critical infrastructure, and will include provisions to protect sensitive intellectual property from foreign buyers.

Last week, Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi suggested in a Bloomberg TV interview that the government was likely to drop earlier plans to allow ministers to unravel already completed foreign deals involving British companies, saying “any retrospection on deals would send the wrong message.”

That came after people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg last month that proposals included powers to allow ministers to intervene retrospectively in circumstances where national security is an issue.

With the U.K. due to leave the European Union’s single market at the end of the year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government wants to show Britain’s economy is open to the world. But at the same time it’s also seeking to protect strategic industries to ensure key intellectual property and critical national infrastructure are protected.

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