Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament

The Committee's statutory remit (under the Justice and Security Act 2013) is to examine the expenditure, administration, policy and operations of the security and intelligence Agencies; the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), the Security Service (MI5) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)) and Defence Intelligence in the Ministry of Defence, the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) in the Home Office and the intelligence-related work of the Cabinet Office including the Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) and the National Security Secretariat (NSS).[3]

The members of the committee are notified under the Official Secrets Act 1989 and are given access to highly classified material in carrying out their duties.[4] The committee holds evidence sessions with Government Ministers and senior officials (for example, the heads of the security and intelligence Agencies), expert witnesses such as academics and journalists, and other interested parties. It also considers written evidence from the intelligence and security Agencies and relevant government departments.[5]

The work of the committee is invariably conducted in secret. The Committee produces an annual report which focuses on administration and finance, and special reports on operational or policy issues which it considers are of particular concern.[6] The Government is required to respond to the Committee's reports within 60 days.[7] The Committee published five reports in 2018 - a report examining the 2017 UK terror attacks, two reports on detainee mistreatment and rendition, a report on diversity and inclusion in the UK intelligence community and an Annual Report.[8] In 2019 the Committee published a statement on 5G suppliers[9] and was due to publish a report on Russia but was unable to do so because the Prime Minister did not confirm that the report could be published before Parliament dissolved for the 2019 General Election.[10]

Unlike a Select Committee, the ISC shares its reports with the Government and Agencies it oversees in advance of publication. This is to ensure that no details which might damage national security are published. Each report is subject to four stages: requests for factual amendments; requests for redactions; contested requests for redactions (where the Committee is unwilling to accept an initial redaction request, representatives of the Agencies must appear to argue the case); and confirmation from the Prime Minister that the document no longer contains any details damaging to national security. By convention, the Prime Minister has 10 working days in which to examine the report and confirm that there are no national security issues outstanding. Once that certification is received the Committee makes administrative arrangement to lay the Report before Parliament.[11]

The ISC is unusual, being a statutory committee rather than a normal parliamentary select committee. Originally constituted under the Intelligence Services Act 1994[12] the Committee was reformed, and its powers expanded by the Justice and Security Act 2013. The Committee has an independent secretariat of analysts and investigators and an independent webpage.

The degree to which it is independent was historically questioned by journalists and privacy groups such as Liberty although the ISC itself says it is independent because it is composed of cross-party MPs and Peers and operates in a non-partisan manner.[13] The ISC gained stronger powers under the Justice and Security Act 2013 and is no longer appointed by the Prime Minister: as a result its reports since then have been seen as independent.[14]

Parliament appoints the nine members from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, after considering nominations from the Prime Minister, made following discussion with the Leader of the Opposition. The Committee elect their own Chair from amongst the members. Serving ministers are not allowed to be members, but members may previously have held ministerial positions. Members of the committee cease to be members when Parliament is dissolved, and new members are appointed after the new Parliament convenes.[15]

Malcolm Rifkind was Chairman until 24 February 2015, when he resigned following a sting by journalists involving a bogus Chinese company and his suspension from the Conservative Party. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve was elected by the Committee as his replacement on 15 September 2015 when it reconvened after the 2015 general election.[16] He was re-elected as Chair by the committee on 23 November 2017 when it reconvened after the June 2017 general election.[17]

The membership of the Committee at the end of the 2017–2019 Parliament was as follows:

• Dominic Grieve – Chairman
• Richard Benyon
• Stewart Hosie
• Caroline Flint
• David Hanson
• Lord Janvrin
• Kevan Jones
• Michael Ancram, Marquess of Lothian
• Keith Simpson

The committee has not yet reconvened for the current parliament since December 2019, and there are currently no members until nominations are made for new members by the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.[18] Since 2015 the Chair has been elected by the Committee itself, from amongst its members.

The "Russia report" is the Intelligence and Security Committee's 2019 report into allegations of Russian interference in British politics, including alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum.[19]

The British government led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to publicly release the report before the general election in December.[20] A number of legal actions are underway to try to force the government to publish it.[21][22] The Prime Minister approved its release on 13 December 2019, the day after the general election,[23] and subsequently, according to a response to a parliamentary petition given on 19 March 2020, it is the responsibility of the Committee to publish it. As of June 2020 this cannot happen because there are currently no members until nominations are made for new members by the Prime Minister (in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition) and appointed by Parliament.

In the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, Ralph Fiennes plays Gareth Mallory, the chairman of the committee, who becomes the new M after the death of Judi Dench's M.

• Joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

• Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)
• Intelligence and Security Committee (New Zealand)
• Investigatory Powers Tribunal
• Mass surveillance in the United Kingdom
• Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (Australia)
• Parliamentary Committees of the United Kingdom
• Security Intelligence Review Committee (Canada)
• United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

• Intelligence and Security Committee website