CHAPTER 6: POWERS AND SAFEGUARDS
the Foreign Secretary to GCHQ and provide the legal basis for GCHQ’s bulk
interception capability.
6.48.
Large volumes of material may be intercepted pursuant to a s8(4) warrant and thus
become available for examination. At the same time as issuing a warrant, the
Secretary of State must issue a certificate that describes the material that may be
examined within that wider body of data. The certificates reflect the Priorities for
Intelligence Collection [PIC] that are approved annually by the National Security
Council after consideration by the Joint Intelligence Committee (the part of the Cabinet
Office responsible for directing the security and intelligence agencies). The Secretary
of State must be satisfied that it is necessary and proportionate to select and examine
the data set out in the certificate.
6.49.
As the ISC said of these certificates in its recent report:
“We note that the categories are expressed in very general terms. For example:
‘Material providing intelligence on terrorism (as defined by the Terrorism Act
2000 (as amended)), including, but not limited to, terrorist organisations,
terrorists, active sympathisers, attack planning, fund-raising.’”50
As a result, very large volumes of communications may be both intercepted and
examined under a s8(4) warrant, though GCHQ’s safeguarding and compliance
mechanisms, and limitations on storage capacity, limit what can be actively processed
or used.51
6.50.
If an individual is known to be in the UK, and GCHQ wishes to select for examination
his external communications, the Foreign Secretary may add his name to the
certificate associated with the s8(4) warrant. In reality, most individuals in the UK who
are of interest to the intelligence services are subject to a s8(1) warrant that will
authorise the interception of both their internal and external communications.52
6.51.
In summary, the boundary between targeted and bulk warrants is comparatively clear.
A targeted warrant must be directed at a person (or association of persons) or
premises and it must include schedules setting out the factors to be used to identify
the communications to be intercepted. A bulk warrant must be targeted against
external communications and is not required to include schedules that identify the
communications to be sought. However, it must be accompanied by a certificate from
the Secretary of State issued in accordance with ss8(4) and 16(3).
6.52.
The boundary between “internal” and “external” communications is less
straightforward. OSCT’s interpretation was, as set out in the Charles Farr Statement,
that:
50
51
52
ISC Privacy and Security Report, para 101.
For a fuller discussion of some of the process adopted by GCHQ in respect of data analysis see: IOCC
Report, (March 2015) para 6.37-40.
Though individuals targeted under a s8(1) warrant may also be subject to additional coverage of their
external communications under a s8(4) warrant.
107