UK INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY REPORT AUGUST 2003 Richard M. Bennett and Katie Bennett – AFI Research A) POLITICAL CONTROL B) EXTERNAL INTELLIGENCE C) INTERNAL SECURITY D) ARMED FORCES E) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND F) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, TREATIES and ACTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A) POLITICAL CONTROL Britain has a complicated and rather bureaucratic political control over its intelligence and security community and one that tends to apply itself to long-term targets and strategic intelligence programs, but has little real influence on the behaviour and operations of SIS or MI5. Not so much ‘oversight’ as 'blindsight'. Despite the cosmetic changes of recent years and their formal establishment as legal Government organizations, there is still little true accountability for their actions or a valid test of their overall efficiency. This myriad of organizations include the four main elements of the UK Intelligence Community; the SIS, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) responsible for foreign intelligence and counter intelligence, The Security Service (MI5) , responsible for internal security and counter- espionage within both the UK and Commonwealth countries, The GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters, SIGINT and COMSEC agency and the DIS, Defence Intelligence Staff , responsible for the intelligence and security activities within the UK's armed forces. They report to the JIC and through them to the Civil Service (PSIS) and finally the Ministerial Committee (MIS). Ministerial Committee on the Intelligence Services (MIS) - Ministerial control. In their day-to-day operations the Intelligence and Security Agencies operate under the immediate control of their respective Heads who are personally responsible to Ministers. The Prime Minister is responsible for intelligence and security matters overall and is supported in that capacity by the Secretary of the Cabinet. The Home Secretary is responsible for the Security Service; the Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary for SIS and GCHQ; MOD for the DIS; the Treasury and the Duchy of Lancaster. Permanent Secretaries' Committee on the Intelligence Services (PSIS) - Civil Service control . Ministers are assisted in the general oversight of the Agencies by the Permanent Secretaries' Committee on the Intelligence Services (PSIS). Chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Reports only to the PM, not the full Cabinet. Members include the PUS to the FCO, MOD, HO and Treasury as well as the CO Intelligence Co-Coordinator representing the JIC. SIS is directly administered through the Permanent Under-Secretary's Department of the FCO in Downing Street (West) SW1A 2AL Intelligence & Security Committee - Parliamentary oversight 70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS. Parliamentary oversight of SIS, GCHQ and the Security Service is provided by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), established by the Intelligence Services Act 1994. The Committee examines the expenditure, administration and policy of the three Agencies. It operates within the “ring of secrecy” and has wide access to the range of Agency activities and to highly classified information. Its cross-party membership of nine from both Houses is appointed by the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. The Committee is required to report annually to the Prime Minister on its work. These reports, after any deletions of sensitive material, are placed before Parliament by the Prime Minister. The Committee also provides ad hoc reports to the Prime Minister from time to time. The Committee is supported by a Clerk and secretariat based in the Cabinet Office and has an investigator whom the ISC can deploy to pursue specific matters in greater detail. Chairman Rt Hon Tom King 1994-2000 Rt Hon Ann Taylor 2000- The Current Committee Membership (June 2003): Rt. Hon. Ann Taylor, MP (Chairman) Rt. Hon. James Arbuthnot, MP Rt. Hon. The Lord Archer of Sandwell QC Rt. Hon. Kevin Barron, MP Rt. Hon. Alan Beith, MP Rt. Hon. Alan Howarth CBE, MP Michael Mates, MP Rt. Hon. Joyce Quin, MP Rt. Hon. Gavin Strang, MP CABINET OFFICE 70 Whitehall. London SW1A 2AS. 020-7270 1234/3000 Defence & Overseas Affairs Secretariat. Overseas Economic Intelligence Committee (OEIC) Economic and non-Military Scientific & Technical Intelligence Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) - Intelligence Co-Ordination. The Joint Intelligence Committee agrees on the broad intelligence requirements and tasking (National Intelligence Requirements) for SIS and GCHQ and oversees the activities of the Security Service's. It prepares summary assessments for selected Ministers and circulates the weekly 'Red Books' to the Cabinet's Defence and Overseas Committee, chaired by the PM. Traditionally it meets every Wednesday morning and includes representatives from UKUSA and the COS secretariat. This is the 'key' committee involved in the Intelligence Community. Originally formed as the Inter-Service Intelligence Committee (ISIC) under the Chiefs of Staff in January 1936, retitled the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) in July 1936. Moved to foreign Office control in July 1939. In 1957 control moved to Cabinet Office and in 1968 the post of Intelligence Co-Coordinator was created within the Cabinet Office to oversee its functions. In 1982 following the Falklands War the Foreign Office ceased to have any control and the JIC became a Cabinet Office organization with direct access to the Prime Minister. The JIC is reported to have a staff of 20 with a further 30 in the 'JIO' or ISG. Closely involved with the major City institutions particularly Banking, the Economic Sub-Committee of JIC also includes representatives of both the Treasury and the Bank of England (which also an SLO to receive intelligence reports directly from the JIC). A major drawback to JIC effectiveness appears to be a lack of expert knowledge amongst the majority of its Civil Service staff. Following criticism of the JIC performance both before and during the Falklands War from the Franks Committee in January 1983 a full time Chairman for the JIC was to be appointed from within the Cabinet Office The JIC is composed of the ; The Coordinator of Intelligence in the Cabinet Office Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6); Director General of the Security Service (MI5); Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ); The Director General of Intelligence at the MoD; The Deputy Chief of Defence Staff - Intelligence-DCDS (I); Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the JIO Assessment Staff and Foreign Office officials responsible for 'Friendly' Countries Liaison Officers from US, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Intelligence Services. Chairman of JIC (Chaired by FO appointee, even after move from FO to CO control in 1957, until Franks Report of 1983. Cabinet Office appointee thereafter) Sir Ralph Stevenson 1936-June' 39 Lord Victor Cavendish Bentinck June 1939-45 Sir Harold Caccia 1945-48 Sir William Hayter 1948-49 Sir Patrick Reilly 1950-53 Sir Patrick Dean 1953-60 Sir Hugh Stevenson 1960-63 Sir Bernard Burrows 1963-66 Sir Denis Greenhill 1966-68 Sir Edward Peck 1968-70 Sir Stewart Crawford 1970-73 Sir Geoffrey Arthur 1973-75 Sir Anthony Duff 1975-79 Sir Anthony Acland 1979-82 Sir Patrick Wright 1982-84 Sir Percy Craddock January 1985-92 Sir Rodric Braithwaite 1992-93 Dame Pauline Neville Jones 1993-94 Sir Paul Lever January 1994-97 Michael Pakenham 1997-2000 Peter Ricketts 2000-September 2001 John Scarlett 2001- Co-ordinator for Intelligence and Security (position created in 1968) Sir Dick White 1968-1973 Sir Leonard Hooper 1973-78 Sir Francis Brooks Richards 1978-80 Sir Anthony Duff 1980-85 Sir Colin Figures 1985-89 Sir Christopher Curwen 1989-91 Sir Gerald Warner 1991-1996 John Alpass 1996-1998 Combined with position of Chairman of the JIC Michael Pakenham 1998-2000 Peter Ricketts 2000 - Sept 2001 John Scarlett Sept 2001 - August 2002 Role again changed to become the new Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator & Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office A mirror of the new US Homeland Security and with a central Anti-Terrorism role, announced June 2002. Sir David Omand August 2002 - Assessment Staff & Joint Intelligence Secretariat (created 1968) Also known as the Intelligence and Security Group (ISG) Its role is to support the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) proper, which in turn provides Ministers and senior Officials with regular intelligence assessments on a wide range of issues of immediate and long-term importance to national interests, primarily in the fields of security, international crime, defence and foreign affairs. The Assessment Staff control the work of the Current Intelligence Groups (CIG), effectively JIC sub-committee's each chaired by a member of the Assessment Staff, on the Middle East, Far East, Europe, Northern Ireland and WMD. The CIG's acquire secret intelligence from UK sources (approx one third SIS and two thirds GCHQ),a considerable US Intelligence input and indeed open source information , collate, analyze and prepare weekly reports and long term projects for the JIC to present to the MIS and PSIS. The JIC also sets intelligence requirements and priorities of the Intelligence Agencies, and scrutinises their performance in meeting those requirements. The Joint Intelligence Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the JIC and its sub- committees. London Signals Intelligence Board (LSIB) For many years the controlling authority for GCHQ formed in 1942 Supervised SIGINT activities certainly until the late 1980's with