Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 19 January 2021
I have lodged the motion in order to update the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Government’s position on the United Kingdom Government’s Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill. The bill completed its report stage in the House of Lords on 13 January, and its third reading is scheduled for later this month, on 21 January. The bill aims to provide an express statutory power for certain public authorities to authorise a covert human intelligence source—otherwise known as a CHIS—to participate in criminal conduct in cases in which that is necessary and proportionate.
The Scottish Government laid a legislative consent memorandum on 4 December 2020. In that memorandum, and during the evidence session with the Justice Committee on 15 December, I confirmed that the Scottish Government cannot recommend that the Scottish Parliament give its consent to the bill because, despite considerable debate and discussion with the UK Government, safeguards are missing that are, in my view, essential to regulating the very significant power to authorise criminal conduct that is being granted.