U.K. to Crack Down on Russian, North Korean Spies and Saboteurs

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to overhaul the U.K.’s security laws to bring them in line with the U.S. in a crackdown on spies, saboteurs and hackers working for foreign states such as Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Plans include making it illegal to secretly work for a foreign power to undermine Britain through political disruption or spreading disinformation -- such as fake news during election campaigns -- according to a briefing alongside Thursday’s Queen’s Speech setting out the government’s legislative agenda.

Before the election, Johnson refused to publish a report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee into allegations of foreign interference in British elections. The panel examined the revelation that Russia-based Twitter accounts posted more than 45,000 messages about leaving the European Union in just 48 hours during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. The report is expected to be published once the committee is up and running again next year.

During the campaign, Johnson defended his decision not to publish the report. “There’s absolutely no evidence that I’ve ever seen of any Russian interference in U.K. democratic processes,” he told workers during a visit to the northeast of England on Nov. 20.

In a more brutal example of Russian activity in Britain last year, the attempted poisoning of a spy in the city of Salisbury left a woman dead and the issue of international arrest warrants for two suspected Russian agents. Ministers are considering enforcing a register of foreign agents on British soil, Johnson’s office said.

As part of a wider review of legislation, the government is also examining an update of the Official Secrets Act, which is more than a century old.

“We want to ensure that piece of legislation is the right piece of legislation to deal with the threats we face today, from hostile states in particular,” Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, told reporters.

The government will also examine the 1351 Treason Act -- originally drafted in Norman French -- to make it easier for modern juries to convict terrorists.

The act was last used in 1945 to prosecute William Joyce, known as Lord Haw-Haw for his Nazi propaganda broadcasts to Britain during World War II. He was hanged, but the crime now comes with a punishment of a lifelong jail term.

--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart Biggs

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