Regulation 70 Sensitive information: restriction on disclosure

Where the Director General receives information within paragraph (3), the Director General must not disclose, whether under regulation 10, 61 or 62 or otherwise, the information, or the fact that the Director General has received it, unless the relevant authority consents to the disclosure.

Where a person appointed under regulation 40(4) or 41(2) or (6) to investigate a complaint, recordable conduct matter or DSI matter (a “person conducting a directed investigation”) receives information within paragraph (3), the person conducting a directed investigation must not disclose the information, or the fact that it has been received, to any person other than the Director General unless the relevant authority consents to the disclosure.

The information is—

Where the Director General or a person conducting a directed investigation discloses to another person information within paragraph (3) or the fact that the Director General or the person conducting a directed investigation has received it, the other person must not disclose that information or that fact unless the relevant authority consents to the disclosure.

In this regulation—

• “government department” means a department of His Majesty’s Government but does not include—

  1. (a)

     the Security Service;

  2. (b)

     the Secret Intelligence Service; or

  3. (c)

     the Government Communications Headquarters (“GCHQ”);

• “His Majesty’s forces” has the meaning given in the Armed Forces Act 2006^f1;

• “intelligence service information” means information which was obtained (directly or indirectly) from or which relates to—

  1. (a)

     the Security Service;

  2. (b)

     the Secret Intelligence Service;

  3. (c)

     GCHQ; or

  4. (d)

     any part of—

     1. (i)

        His Majesty’s forces; or

     2. (ii)

        the Ministry of Defence,

     which engages in intelligence activities;

• “Minister of the Crown” has the meaning given in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975^f2;

• “protected information”, in relation to a relevant warrant, means information relating to any of the matters mentioned in section 57(4) of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 in relation to the warrant;

• “relevant authority” means—

  1. (a)

     in the case of intelligence service information obtained from the Security Service, the Director General of the Security Service;

  2. (b)

     in the case of intelligence service information obtained from the Secret Intelligence Service, the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service;

  3. (c)

     in the case of intelligence service information obtained from GCHQ, the Director of GCHQ;

  4. (d)

     in the case of intelligence service information obtained from any part of—

     1. (i)

        His Majesty’s forces; or

     2. (ii)

        the Ministry of Defence,

     which engages in intelligence activities, the Secretary of State;

  5. (e)

     in the case of protected information relating to a relevant warrant, the person to whom the warrant is or was addressed;

  6. (f)

     in the case of information within paragraph (3)(c)—

     1. (i)

        the Secretary of State; or

     2. (ii)

        the Minister of the Crown in charge of the government department from which the information was obtained (if that Minister is not a Secretary of State);

• “relevant warrant” means—

  1. (a)

     a warrant under Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016^f3; or

  2. (b)

     a warrant under Chapter 1 of Part 6 of that Act^f4.