3Offences
1
A relevant person must not disclose without lawful authority any information supplied to him or another relevant person under section 1.
2
A person—
a
who is or who has been employed by a relevant person,
b
who is or who has been engaged—
i
in the provision of services to a relevant person in connection with the carrying out of a switchover help function, or
ii
to carry out any switchover help function, or to carry out any function in connection with the carrying out of a switchover help function, or
c
who is or who has been employed by, or who is or who has been engaged in the provision of services to, or to carry out a function for, a person mentioned in paragraph (b),
must not disclose without lawful authority information supplied to a relevant person under section 1.
3
A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence.
4
It is not an offence under this section—
a
to disclose information in the form of a summary or collection of information so framed as not to enable information supplied under section 1 relating to any particular person to be ascertained from it; or
b
to disclose information which has previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority.
5
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that at the time of the alleged offence he believed—
a
that he was making the disclosure in question with lawful authority, or
b
that the information in question had previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority,
and that he had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise.
6
For the purposes of this section, a disclosure is to be regarded as made with lawful authority if, but only if, it is made—
a
for the purpose of carrying out a switchover help function, or for doing anything connected with the carrying out of a switchover help function;
b
in accordance with any enactment or court order;
c
for the purpose of instituting, or otherwise for the purposes of, proceedings before a court; or
d
with the consent of the person to whom the information relates or of any person authorised to act on that person’s behalf.
7
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
a
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or both; or
b
on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both.
8
In the application of this section—
a
in England and Wales, in relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44),
b
in Scotland, until the commencement of section 45(1) of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 6), or
c
in Northern Ireland,
the reference in subsection (7)(b) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.