ABSTRACT
The security of the state is of the utmost importance to the integrity and well being of a nation and to individual citizens whose rights and freedoms are protected by the security of the state. This chapter considers first the role and powers of the security services and their regulation; then the law relating to official secrets, emergency powers and the law relating to terrorism. The United Kingdom's internal Security Service is known as Military Intelligence5 (MI5). The Security Service Act 1996 extended the function of MI5 to matters concerning 'serious crime'. The government's objective was to enable MI5 to investigate 'organised crime' and 'drug trafficking, money launderers and racketeers'. MI6 is the branch of the Security Services which deals with information gathering and operations outside the United Kingdom. The Intelligence Services Act 1994 defined, for the first time, the statutory functions of MI6.
