Lord Bingham of Cornhill said that the white paper "Reform of Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911" (Cm.

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.

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.

Sections 7(5), 8(9), 12 and 13(1) confer powers on the Secretary of State to "prescribe" bodies and persons for certain purposes.

The Home Office has bid for a legislative slot in the next session to amend the Official Secrets Act 1989.

The Home Office has informed the Committee that, in its view, the proposed Bill should remove the common law defence of duress of circumstance in order to address unauthorised disclosure by members, or former members, of the intelligence and security Agencies.

The Bill should also put an element of the associated "authorisation to disclose" procedure onto a statutory footing and increase penalties.

[9]Section 1(1) creates an offence of disclosing information, documents or other articles relating to security or intelligence.

This includes confidential information, documents or other article from a State other than the United Kingdom or an international organisation.

It allows, for example, the prosecution of newspapers or journalists who publish secret information leaked to them by a crown servant in contravention of section 3.

Section 6 creates an offence of making a "damaging disclosure" which "relates to security or intelligence, defence or international relations" where that information was provided in confidence "by or on behalf of the United Kingdom to another State or to an international organisation" where that person obtained it without that State or organization's authorization, and where no other offence under the earlier sections of this Act applies.

Section 9(1) provides that no prosecution for any other offence under this Act may be instituted, in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Attorney General, or in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.

This section defines the words and expressions "disclose", "disclosure", "international organisation", "prescribed" and "State" for the purposes of the Act.