For the first time, new legislation will compel those acting for a foreign power or entity to declare political influencing activity – and criminalise those who do not.

This change is being brought about by the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which has been introduced to the UK Parliament via an amendment to the National Security Bill.

The bill brings in vital new measures to protect our national security and modernise existing counter-espionage laws to tackle covert influence.

The new scheme will increase the transparency of political influencing activity being carried out for a foreign power or entity; help safeguard UK democratic institutions from covert influence; and better inform us as to the nature, scale, and extent of foreign influence in our political affairs.

The public register will exist on a government website for political influence activities.

Tom Tugendhat, Security Minister, said:

Unfortunately, there are people working in secret to undermine the UK’s democracy and cause harm to our citizens.

For years I have advocated for the establishment of a foreign influence registration scheme to deter foreign powers from pursuing their pernicious aims through the covert use of agents and proxies.

I am delighted that the scheme we are introducing will help ensure our political affairs are protected, whilst embracing open and transparent engagement with foreign governments and entities which we continue to welcome.

Ken McCallum, Director General of the Security Service (MI5), said:

The UK is in strategic contest with states that seek to undermine our national security, democratic institutions and commercial advantage at an unprecedented scale. We need new, modern tools and powers to defend ourselves, proportionately but firmly.

Alongside the other vital measures introduced in the National Security Bill, the new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will make it harder – and riskier – to operate covertly in the UK at the behest of a foreign power. It will also increase openness and transparency around the scale of foreign influence in our political affairs and make it harder for our adversaries to undermine our democracy. The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme is a modern power designed to tackle a modern threat, and I welcome its inclusion in the National Security Bill.

The scheme will be 2-tiered.

The primary tier will require the registration of political influence activities within the UK at the direction of a foreign power or entity. The person would need to declare who they are in an arrangement with, what activity they have been directed to undertake, and when the arrangement was made. They must do this within 10 days of the direction, or in any case, before the activity is carried out. Foreign entities will also be required to register their own political influence activities before carrying them out.

Notable exceptions to those who would need to register include those working for a foreign power in their official capacity, those with diplomatic immunity, those who provide legal services, those working for domestic and foreign news publishers and those in an arrangement to which the UK government, or someone acting for or on behalf of the Crown is party.

The penalty for failing to register, carrying out activities that aren’t registered, providing false or misleading information or any other foreign influence offence is a maximum of 2 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.

The enhanced tier allows the Home Secretary to specify a foreign power or foreign power-controlled entity where necessary to protect the safety or interests of the UK, and with parliamentary approval, make it an offence for anyone to carry out any activity in the UK at their direction without it being registered. There is no restriction on which states could be named, to enable the UK to respond to emerging threats from any foreign power. The penalty for these offences is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.

Further powers added to the bill include those to protect UK interests from corrupt financial influence, covered by ‘Powers of arrest and detention.’ This will give investigators powers to monitor a suspect’s account in real-time; identify accounts held by suspects in UK financial institutions; and compel individuals or organisations to provide relevant information, produce documents and/or answer questions in relation to an investigation into foreign power threat activity. Obtaining a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service will also be made an offence.

The National Security Bill is currently passing through Parliament.

A new-age road camera designed to identify and track drivers who break the law by revving engines and using modified exhausts will be installed in Bradford today (18 October 2022), before travelling to Bristol, Great Yarmouth and Birmingham as part of a trial to clampdown on antisocial driving.

The Transport Secretary has confirmed these 4 locations will host the new ‘noise camera’ following a government-backed competition to tackle noise pollution on some of the loudest streets in Britain.

The new technology uses a video camera in conjunction with a number of microphones to accurately pinpoint excessively noisy vehicles as they pass by. This means that if drivers break the law by revving their engines unnecessarily or using illegal exhausts, they will be automatically detected. The camera takes a picture of the vehicle and records the noise level to create a digital package of evidence which can be used by local police to fine drivers.

Road noise is known to contribute to health problems, such as heart attacks, strokes and dementia, and the annual social cost of urban road noise, including lost productivity from sleep disturbance and health costs is estimated to be up to £10 billion.

The trials, backed by £300,000, start with the camera in Keighley, Bradford from today and will then be placed in the other 3 locations over the next 2 months.

Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

Rowdy road drivers beware – these new cameras will help the police clampdown on those who break the legal noise limits or use illegal modified exhausts to make excessive noise in our communities.

We’ll be working closely with the local authorities and police to share any findings, and I hope that this technology paves the way for quieter, peaceful streets across the country.

The department launched a competition to identify the areas to host the cameras in April and extensive testing at a private test track facility took place to perfect the technology. Now in the next phase, the locations for these roadside trials have been decided based on the impact to local residents of illegal noisy vehicles, after MPs across the country applied for the camera to be set up in their local area. If successful, the cameras could be rolled out nationwide.

Noise Abatement Society chief executive Gloria Elliott OBE said:

Excessively noisy vehicles and anti-social driving causes disturbance, stress, anxiety and pain to many. It is unsafe and disrupts the environment and people’s peaceful enjoyment of their homes and public places.

Communities across the UK are increasingly suffering from this entirely avoidable blight. The Noise Abatement Society applauds rigorous, effective, evidence-based solutions to address this issue and protect the public.

Atkins-Jacobs Joint Venture is acting as a technical consultant for the trials, providing acoustics expertise, design, modelling and asset management. The noise camera is designed and developed by MicrodB.

Atkins Jacobs Joint Venture Practice Director Andrew Pearce said:

The real-world trials of the technology solution the Atkins Jacobs JV has developed and tested on the track is an important step for the scheme towards solving a problem that affects many communities across the UK.

We are fully expecting the trial in these four chosen locations to confirm what we have seen in testing, which is a highly targeted use of technology to ensure only those motorists making excessive noise will be subject to enforcement.

The trials will continue for 2 months across the country. The department continues to work closely with all local authorities and MPs to tackle rowdy, illegal noise disruption from traffic.

The internal review will be launched shortly and will help to ensure that the system is more effective in removing officers who are not fit to serve the public.

Baroness Casey’s interim report into the culture and standards at the Metropolitan Police Service, published today (Monday 17 October 2022) raises significant concerns, including that fewer officers are being dismissed, officers with multiple allegations made against them are still serving the public and police from ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the misconduct system.

The Home Office review is likely to consider:

• the effectiveness of the existing system to dismiss those who fall seriously short of the standards expected by policing and the public
• the impact of the introduction of changes to misconduct panels, including legally qualified chairs
• whether forces are making use of their powers to discharge officers during their probationary period

Working with policing partners, it will also assess whether the regulatory framework for the police disciplinary system should be changed.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

“The public rightly expects the highest standards of behaviour from police officers and the vast majority meet this expectation. But recently too many high-profile incidents and reports, especially in London, have damaged trust – which is unfair on the public and lets down other serving officers.

“This cannot continue. Culture and standards in the police must improve. And where an officer has fallen seriously short of these expectations, demonstrable, public action must be taken.

“I have been clear it is absolutely vital police act to restore trust, return to common-sense policing and treat the public and victims with the respect they deserve.

“I welcome the Metropolitan Police’s commitment to tackling the issues raised in the Baroness Casey report and hope this review will also help to address underlying concerns.”

The government has already overhauled the police discipline system over the last 7 years, making it more transparent, more proportionate and more accountable – for example introducing public misconduct hearings in 2015 and bringing in the Police Barred List in 2017, ensuring that officers and staff who are dismissed cannot re-join the police.

In addition, the 2-part Angiolini Inquiry is currently examining the issues raised by the conviction of then-serving officer Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard last year. The second part is expected to scrutinise wider issues for policing and the safety of women.

Read more about the Home Office Statutory Guidance on Professional Standards, Performance and Integrity.