CHAPTER 10: INTELLIGENCE
(b)
I have also been able to summarise, in this Chapter, some submissions that
were made to me by individual Agencies about the legal framework in which
they operate, and how it might usefully be changed.
The Agencies
10.9.
MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are constituted by Acts of Parliament5 which spell out both their
functions and, in conjunction with other relevant statutes,6 the permitted scope of their
activities. Their informative and accessible websites give an idea of their activities,
and contain links to the public speeches that are given from time to time by each of
their chiefs. In essence, and so far as relevant to this Review:
(a)
MI5 finds, investigates and disrupts people who pose threats to the UK, many
but not all of whom are in the UK. It seeks the support of the other two
Agencies, whose principal focus is abroad.
(b)
MI6 collects intelligence and undertakes covert activity globally, mainly using a
combination of human and technical sources, in relation to the full range of
threats and in support of the UK’s foreign, defence and security policies.
(c)
GCHQ collects intelligence globally on a large scale about the full range of
threats to UK interests, to inform foreign, defence and security policies. It works
on the front line of UK intelligence activity and informs work against the threats
faced in the UK, which are dealt with by MI5 and the law enforcement agencies.
The Agencies may of course disrupt, deceive or seek to “turn” people, and may in
some cases be authorised to commit acts (e.g. criminal damage) that would
otherwise be unlawful. But they have no police powers (e.g. stop and search, arrest,
detention), and are subject in all their activities to the constraints of UK law.
10.10. The Agencies’ last financial statement put their combined budget at £2.1 billion.7 Fulltime equivalent staff numbers for the Agencies as a whole were 12,190 in 2013-14,
with GCHQ the single biggest employer.
10.11. Secrecy is central to the work of all three Agencies. Whereas law enforcement bodies
operate covertly only when they need to – and exude a certain sense of regret that it
is ever necessary – the Agencies only exist because of the need to operate in secret.
If something can be done openly, the Agencies are not needed to do it.8 This does
not mean that they are ungoverned or unaccountable, nor that the need for their
activities to be necessary and proportionate is in any way reduced. It does however
5
6
7
8
SSA 1989 (MI5) and ISA 1994 (MI6 and GCHQ).
Notably HRA 1998 and RIPA.
Security and Intelligence Agencies financial statement 2013 to 2014 (June 2014). By way of contrast,
the US National Intelligence Program budget for fiscal year 2014 was in excess of $50 billion. The
budget of the NSA (which claimed in 2012 to employ more than 30,000 people across the world) is
classified, as is that of GCHQ.
Of course, the Agencies do some things openly, for example communication security advice at GCHQ
and protective security advice at MI5.
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