Treason lawsU.K. to Overhaul Treason Laws
Britain is overhauling its treason laws, the most sweeping reform of these laws since 1695. The overhaul will see a new Treason Act and a new Espionage Act for tracking foreign agents and agents of influence, as well as a rewriting of the Official Secrets Act to make it suitable for the digital age. Government officials say the reforms are needed better to deal with the Russia’s sustained campaign to undermine Western democracies and corrupt the politics liberal societies, and the growing efforts of China to steal intellectual property and gain access to other countries’ critical infrastructures by encouraging them to buy subsidized Chinese technology.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to overhaul the U.K. treason laws, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported. The analysts said the overhaul is the most sweeping reform of the laws on treachery against the state since 1695.
Government officials said the rewriting of several treachery-related laws was being done to counter the growing threat posed by Russia and China.
The overhaul will see a new Treason Act and a new Espionage Act for tracking foreign agents and agents of influence, as well as a rewriting of the Official Secrets Act to make it suitable for the digital age.
Officials told the Mail that the PM wants the new measures on the statute books “within months rather than years.”
Tensions between the U.K. and Russia have been rising, as the U.K. has targeted Russians with new sanctions, accused Russian agents of meddle in last year’s election and, before that, in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the f2016 Brexit referendum. An intelligence report released Tuesday accused Russia of conducting a “nihilistic” campaign to undermine British democracy and corrupt British politics, and charged that the government and MI5 took “their eyes off the ball” with regard the Russia’s aggressive anti-U.K. campaign.
The repot also found that a distressingly high number of Conservative Party current and former politicians were the beneficiaries of generous campaign donations from Kremlin-affiliated entities and individuals.
The United Kingdom also joined the United States and Canada in accusing Russian government-employed hackers of trying to steal CORONA-19 research from Western labs.
Britain has also expressed its worry by aggressive moves by Russia and China to deploy weapons in space.
Speaking with the Sunday Telegraph, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that London will boost its ability to handle threats posed by Russia and China in space.
“This week we have been reminded of the threat Russia poses to our national security with the provocative test of a weapon-like projectile from a satellite threatening the peaceful use of space,” Wallace said, adding that China also posed a threat.
“China, too, is developing offensive space weapons and both nations are upgrading their capabilities. Such behavior only underlines the importance of the review the government is currently conducting into our foreign, security, defense and development policy — the deepest and most radical since the end of the Cold War,” he added.
