National Security Act 2023

19 Aggravating factor where foreign power condition met: England and Wales U.K.

(1) The Sentencing Code is amended as follows.

(2) After section 69 insert—

“69A Offences where foreign power condition met

(1) This section applies where a court is considering the seriousness of an offence that—

(a) is committed on or after the day on which section 19 of the National Security Act 2023 comes into force, and

(b) is not an offence listed in subsection (2).

(2) Those offences are—

(a) an offence under the National Security Act 2023 or an inchoate offence (see section 398) in relation to any such offence;

(b) a relevant electoral offence within the meaning given by section 16 of that Act (foreign interference in elections).

(3) Where the foreign power condition is met in relation to the conduct that constitutes the offence, the court—

(a) must treat that fact as an aggravating factor, and

(b) must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated.

(4) Where an offence is found to have been committed over a period of 2 or more days, or at some time during a period of 2 or more days, it must be taken for the purposes of subsection (1) to have been committed on the first of those days.

(5) Section 31 of the National Security Act 2023 (meaning of foreign power condition) applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of Part 1 of that Act.”

Commencement Information

I1 S. 19 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 100(1)

I2 S. 19 in force at 20.12.2023 by S.I. 2023/1272, reg. 2(a)