National Security (State Threats) Bill 2026
These documents relate to the National Security (State Threats) Bill which was introduced in the House of Commons on 9 June 2026.
Threats to the UK from foreign states are persistent and take many forms including:
- espionage
- sabotage
- disinformation
- cyber operations
- interference in the political system
- assassination and attempted assassination
Collectively these are referred to by the government as state threats.
The government is determined to deter, detect and disrupt those state actors who harm the UK.
The National Security Act 2023 introduced a suite of new powers and offences to ensure that law enforcement and intelligence agencies had the modern tools, powers and protections they needed to counter those who seek to do the UK harm. The act also strengthened the resilience of the UK’s political system against covert foreign influence and provided greater transparency around the activities of specified foreign powers.
The threat to the UK from foreign powers and their proxies has grown in scale and complexity, threatening lives and undermining our democratic values.
The National Security (State Threats) Bill will build on the National Security Act by providing a new power for the Secretary of State to designate bodies that are engaged in threat activity linked to a foreign power, similar to proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000.
New criminal sanctions will apply to designated bodies, including proxies, being used by states to carry out their hostile activities in the UK.
The National Security (State Threats) Bill in Parliament.