This discussion chaired by a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Whistleblowing will be opened by Martin Bright, former journalist at the Observer, who featured in the film "Official Secrets" telling the story of GCHQ whistleblower Catherine Gun.

Martin, as well as sharing his experience, will be providing a stimulating and thought provoking keynote speech about the proposed changes to the Official Secrets act 1989 in what he describes as "a once in a generation opportunity to reform this legislation and will have significant consequences for whistleblowers, civil servants and the security services".

Background

On September 1 2020 the Law Commission published its recommendations for the reform of the Official Secrets Act (1989), which is no longer deemed fit for purpose. In the last Queen’s Speech, the government has proposed reforming this country’s secrecy legislation in light of advances in communications and data technology and new threats from aggressive foreign actors. The new recommendations include tougher sentences for the most serious offences.

The Law Commission goes on to propose that “A statutory public interest defence should be available for anyone – including civilians and journalists – charged with an unauthorised disclosure offence under the Official Secrets Act 1989. Meaning that if it is found that the disclosure was in the public interest, the defendant would not be guilty of the offence.This would mark a significant shift in the culture of secrecy in this country.

Other proposals include: proof that any suspect had knowledge that a leak would cause damage; the establishment of an independent commissioner to investigate concerns and the replacing of the word “enemy” with “foreign power” in the legislation.

A Zoom link will be distributed to all registerd attendes prior to the event.

For any further queries please do not hesitate to contact secretary@wbuk.org