Laws allowing undercover agents acting for MI5 and the police to commit crimes do not explicitly rule out murder, torture and sexual violence.
Human rights organisations criticised the “lack of safeguards” in the legislation to be laid in parliament today, which allows agents to carry out criminal acts to maintain their cover.
The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Bill will formalise the power for spies to engage in offences when they are “necessary and proportionate” and in the public interest. It will give a legal basis for MI5, police and public authorities tackling serious crime to continue to authorise criminality in specific circumstances.
The power was previously allowed under a secret direction from the prime minister, which was not publicly acknowledged until 2018. The campaign
