{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/terrorism-act-2000/section-58A",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/terrorism-act-2000/section-58A.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2000/11",
  "legislation_title": "Terrorism Act 2000",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/terrorism-act-2000",
  "path": "section/58A",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "58A",
  "heading": "Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etc",
  "text": "(1) A person commits an offence who—\n(a) elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been—\n(i) a member of Her Majesty's forces,\n(ii) a member of any of the intelligence services, or\n(iii) a constable,\nwhich is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or\n(b) publishes or communicates any such information.\n(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action.\n(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—\n(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years or to a fine, or to both;\n(b) on summary conviction—\n(i) in England and Wales or Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;\n(ii) in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.\n(3A) In subsection (3)(b)(i), in its application to England and Wales, the reference to 12 months is to be read as a reference to the general limit in a magistrates’ court.\n(4) In this section “ the intelligence services ” means the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and GCHQ (within the meaning of section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (c. 13)).\n(5) Schedule 8A to this Act contains supplementary provisions relating to the offence under this section.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 58A inserted (16.2.2009) by Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (c. 28), ss. 76(1)(2), 100(5) (with s. 101(2)); S.I. 2009/58, art. 2(d)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in s. 58A(3)(a) substituted (12.4.2019) by Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 (c. 3), ss. 7(4), 27(3) (with s. 25(2))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "S. 58A(3A) inserted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 9(2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/58A",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T17:11:32.802855+00:00",
    "licence": "OGL-UK-3.0",
    "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
    "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
  }
}