# National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, Section 1: Designation of bodies involved in foreign power threat activity

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) The National Security Act 2023 is amended as follows.
(2) After section 33 (foreign power threat activity and involvement in that activity) insert—
“Designation of bodies involved in foreign power threat activity
Power to designate bodies involved in foreign power threat activity
33A (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations designate a body for the purposes of this Part if the Secretary of State—
(a) reasonably believes that the body is, or has been, involved in foreign power threat activity (see section 33), and
(b) considers that designating the body is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.
(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations remove the designation of a body.
(3) In this Part a “designated body” means a body for the time being designated by regulations under this section.
(4) Regulations under this section may amend this Act to insert a Schedule listing the body or bodies designated under this section.
(5) Regulations under this section may amend a Schedule inserted under subsection (4) so as to—
(a) add an entry relating to a designated body;
(b) remove or amend an entry relating to a designated body.
(6) If the Secretary of State reasonably believes—
(a) that a body is, or has been, operating wholly or partly under more than one name, or
(b) that two or more bodies are for all practical purposes the same body,
the designation of the body may include alternative names.
(7) Nothing in this section prevents any liability from being established in any proceedings by proof that a body is the same as a designated body, even though the body was operating under a name not included in the designation of the body.
(8) In this section “body” includes any association or combination of persons.
The designated body condition
33B (1) For the purposes of this Part the designated body condition is met in relation to a person’s conduct if—
(a) the conduct in question, or a course of conduct of which it forms part, is carried out for or on behalf of a designated body, and
(b) the person knows, or having regard to other matters known to them ought reasonably to know, that to be the case.
(2) The conduct in question, or a course of conduct of which it forms part, is in particular to be treated as carried out for or on behalf of a designated body if—
(a) it is instigated by a designated body,
(b) it is under the direction or control of a designated body,
(c) it is carried out with financial or other assistance provided by a designated body for that purpose, or
(d) it is carried out in collaboration with, or with the agreement of, a designated body.
(3) Subsections (1)(a) and (2) may be satisfied by a direct or indirect relationship between the conduct, or the course of conduct, and the designated body (for example, there may be an indirect relationship through one or more companies).
(4) A person’s conduct may form part of a course of conduct engaged in by the person alone, or by the person and one or more other persons.
(5) The designated body condition is also met in relation to a person’s conduct if the person intends the conduct in question to benefit a designated body.
(6) The designated body condition may be met in relation to the conduct of a person who holds office in or under, or is an employee or other member of staff of, a designated body, as it may be met in relation to the conduct of any other person.”.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/24/section/1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-security-state-threats-act-2026/section-1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.