17Disclosures of informationU.K.
(1)Except as provided by subsection (2), a disclosure of information under a provision of this Part does not breach—
(a)any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or
(b)any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).
(2)Nothing in this Part authorises a disclosure of information which—
(a)would contravene the data protection legislation (but in determining whether a disclosure would do so, the duties imposed by this Part are to be taken into account), or
(b)is prohibited by any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.
(3)Nothing in this Part limits the circumstances in which information may be disclosed apart from under this Part.
(4)In this section “the data protection legislation” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3 of that Act).
(5)Until the repeal of Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by paragraph 54 of Schedule 10 to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is fully in force, subsection (2)(b) has effect as if it included a reference to that Part.