Section 134 | Information relating to the intelligence services, etc

(1)A power conferred by section 96 or 97 may not be exercised in relation to a person serving in an intelligence service unless the Secretary of State certifies that the condition in subsection (3) is met in relation to the power.

(2)A power of entry conferred by this Part may not be exercised in relation to any premises (or any part of premises) used for the purposes of an intelligence service unless the Secretary of State certifies that the condition in subsection (3) is met in relation to the power.

(3)The condition in this subsection is met in relation to a power if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the exercise of the power will not be contrary to the public interest or prejudicial to—

(a)national security,

(b)the prevention or detection of serious crime, or

(c)the economic well-being of the United Kingdom.

(4)A certificate issued under this section in relation to a power may impose conditions on the exercise of the power.

(5)Except as provided for by subsection (1), nothing in this Part requires any person to—

(a)produce any document containing intelligence service information, or

(b)provide any information that is intelligence service information.

(6)For the purposes of this section—

(a)“crime” means conduct which—

(i)constitutes a criminal offence, or

(ii)is, or corresponds to, any conduct which, if it all took place in any one part of the United Kingdom, would constitute a criminal offence;

(b)crime is “serious” if—

(i)the offence which is or would be constituted by the conduct is an offence for which the maximum sentence (in any part of the United Kingdom) is imprisonment for three years or more, or

(ii)the conduct involves the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose;

(c)“intelligence service information” means information obtained directly or indirectly from, or that relates to, an intelligence service or a person acting on behalf of an intelligence service.