Use of information as evidence
6.3
Subject to the provisions in chapter 3 of this code, information obtained through
equipment interference may be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. The
admissibility of evidence is governed primarily by the common law, the Civil
Procedure Rules, section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the
1998 Act.
Handling information obtained by equipment interference
6.4
6.5
Paragraphs 6.6 to 6.11 provide guidance as to the safeguards which must be applied by
the Intelligence Services to the processing, retention, disclosure and destruction of all
information obtained by equipment interference. Each of the Intelligence Services must
ensure that there are internal arrangements in force, approved by the Secretary of State,
for securing that these requirements are satisfied in relation to all information obtained
by equipment interference.
These arrangements should be made available to the Intelligence Services
Commissioner. The arrangements must ensure that the disclosure, copying and
retention of information obtained by means of an equipment interference warrant is
limited to the minimum necessary for the proper discharge of the Intelligence Services’
functions or for the additional limited purposes set out in section 2(2)(a) of the 1989
Act and sections 2(2)(a) and 4(2)(a) of the 1994 Act. Breaches of these handling
arrangements must be reported to the Intelligence Services Commissioner as agreed
with him.
Dissemination of information
6.6
6.7
The number of persons to whom any of the information is disclosed, and the extent of
disclosure, must be limited to the minimum necessary for the proper discharge of the
Intelligence Services’ functions or for the additional limited purposes described in
paragraph 6.5. This obligation applies equally to disclosure to additional persons within
an Intelligence Service, and to disclosure outside the service. It is enforced by
prohibiting disclosure to persons who do not hold the required security clearance, and
also by the need-to-know principle: information obtained by equipment interference
must not be disclosed to any person unless that person’s duties are such that he needs to
know about the information to carry out those duties. In the same way only so much of
the information may be disclosed as the recipient needs; for example if a summary of
the information will suffice, no more than that should be disclosed.
The obligations apply not just to the Intelligence Service that obtained the information,
but also to anyone to whom the information is subsequently disclosed. In some cases
this may be achieved by requiring the latter to obtain the originator’s permission before
disclosing the information further. In others, explicit safeguards may be applied to
secondary recipients.
Copying
6.8
Information obtained by equipment interference may only be copied to the extent
necessary for the proper discharge of the Intelligence Services’ functions or for the
additional limited purposes described in paragraph 6.5. Copies include not only direct
copies of the whole of the information, but also extracts and summaries which identify