Official Secrets Act 1989
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| Long title | An Act to replace section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 by provisions protecting more limited classes of official information. |
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| Citation | 1989 c. 6 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 May 1989 |
| Commencement | 1 March 1990 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Official Secrets Act 1989 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk | |
The Official Secrets Act 1989 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repeals and replaces section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911, thereby removing the public interest defence created by that section.
Lord Bingham said that the white paper "Reform of Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911" (Cm. 408) (June 1988) was the immediate precursor of this Act and that its recommendations bear directly on the interpretation of this Act.
The offences under sections 1(3), 2(1), 3(1) and 4(1) can be committed only by persons who are or have been, and the offence under section 8(1) can be committed only by persons who are, crown servants or government contractors.
The offences under the Act, that can be committed only by persons who, as the case may be, are or have been crown servants, government contractors, or members of the security and intelligence services, can be committed only where the information, document or other article in question is or has been in the possession of the person in question by virtue of their position as such.
The offences under sections 5(2), 5(6), 6(2), 8(4), 8(5) and 8(6) can be committed by any person.
Sections 1(3), 2(1), 3(1), 5(3)(a) and 6(2) provide that the disclosures to which they apply are not an offence unless they are "damaging". Section 4(2) is similar.
Offences under any provision of the Act, other than sections 8(1) or 8(4) or 8(5), committed by any person in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, or in any colony, or committed by British citizens or Crown servants in any place, are cognisable as offences under the law of the United Kingdom.
In England and Wales, offences under any provision of this Act other than sections 8(1) or 8(4) or 8(5) were formerly classified as arrestable offences, initially by virtue of sections 24(1)(c) and (2)(bb) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and then by virtue of sections 24(1)(c) and (2) of, and paragraph 18 of Schedule 1A to, that Act.
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