Reports are emerging that state Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to amend Britain’s treason laws as part of the biggest shakeup in these regulations since 1695. UNN’s Oliver Down understands that this will be done in a bid to counter the growing threat of states such as Russia and China.
The government was met with severe criticism from Parliament’s Intelligence Committee for the ‘Russia report’. Increased hostilities with China and Russia as well as and legal loopholes that could see returning IS fighters walk free have resulted in a shake up being labelled as a “three-pronged attack” is being drawn up by the government.
It is understood that this would take the form of a new Treason Act, a new Espionage Act to track foreign agents and influencers as well as a rewriting of the Official Secrets Act in order to make it “fit for the digital era”.
This package would bring Britain’s security services into line with the likes of America and Australia. A source from within Downing Street has said that the Prime Minister wants these new measures on the statute books “within months rather than years”. The source went on to say : “We want to strengthen our response to reduce the threat posed by hostile state activity in the UK and make the UK a harder environment for adversaries to operate in”.
The Treason Act proposed would see anyone who swears an allegiance to a foreign power or organisation criminalised if they operate in or attempt to enter the UK. The Espionage Act would create a register of foreign agents of influence attempting to operate in the UK as well as clamping down on those British citizens aiding states seen as hostile to Britain. Finally, the security services want tougher measures to reign in British bankers, lawyers and services suppliers who work to flout weak current laws in order to aid hostile regime figures and foreign criminals.
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Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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