The British Government Warns Private Spies Against Contacting Russia, China, and Iran.

The United Kingdom urges security service practitioners not to cooperate with hostile regimes

The United Kingdom has urged workers in private companies providing intelligence and security services not to cooperate with hostile regimes. The National Security Act 2023 recognizes the governments of Russia, Iran, and China as hostile to Britain.

'You may be at risk of committing an offense if the work you are doing could assist a foreign state in activities against the United Kingdom,' the guidelines and explanations on the UK government website state, according to Voice of America.

Penalties can include imprisonment for up to 14 years, Politico reports.

UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis has called on industry workers to be vigilant to prevent working on behalf of other countries that could harm the interests of the United Kingdom.

'Security specialists have become attractive intermediaries for those who wish to harm the UK. Private investigators, private intelligence officers, and personal protection officers have specialized skills, access to information, and proximity to individuals of interest that hostile actors want to exploit,' Jarvis wrote.

'Working for a foreign state is not illegal, but under this important law, it is now a criminal offense if you assist them in activities that harm the United Kingdom,' he added.

British state intelligence services believe that the threat to the country comes 'primarily from Russia, Iran, and China.'

In his article, Jarvis noted that foreign actors can often operate covertly or through intermediaries, making it challenging to detect their intentions.

'You must take all reasonable precautions to ensure that you are not engaging in harmful activities for a foreign state,' he stated.

Among the possible types of such harmful activities, he listed direct or indirect work for foreign intelligence, as well as meddling in foreign affairs by inciting hatred in society, undermining public safety, attacking foreign dissidents, or transferring confidential information to another state.

In recent years, private intelligence and security services have become a significant business in Britain, involving former employees of the country's security services.

Thus, the state security services of the United Kingdom are seriously concerned about the activities of the private intelligence industry.

A report by the UK's domestic security and counterintelligence agency MI5 released last October stated that Russia and Iran are increasingly hiring private spies and criminals to carry out tasks in Britain. This is a new trend, according to the agency.

The UK government's guidance for private spying companies emerged as part of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).

FIRS, similar to the American and other systems for registering foreign interests representatives, 'will require the registration of agreements for conducting political influence activities in the United Kingdom at the direction of a foreign state.'

Failure to register or engage in activities conditioned on unregistered agreements will become a criminal offense.

'This will increase the transparency of foreign state influence in the United Kingdom and deter the use of secret agreements by foreign states seeking to influence our democracy,' quotes Minister Jarvis's words as reported by Byline Times.

'My main advice and request is simple: be vigilant to these threats, identify whom you are really working for, report any issues, and disseminate information among your colleagues,' Jarvis concluded in his article for City Security.