Section 58A Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etcF1
United Kingdom
A person commits an offence who—
elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been—
a member of Her Majesty's forces,
a member of any of the intelligence services, or
a constable,
which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or
publishes or communicates any such information.
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.
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding F215 years or to a fine, or to both;
on summary conviction—
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;
in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.
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.
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)).
Schedule 8A to this Act contains supplementary provisions relating to the offence under this section.
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
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)
- F2
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))
- F3
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)