Lord Markham (Con)

My Lords, Amendment 73 stands in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Alton of Liverpool and Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, and in my name. Unfortunately, the noble Lord, Lord Alton, is unable to be here today, and I am very pleased to move the amendment on his behalf. The principle behind it is very simple, and I am delighted to see that it has cross-party support. I am sure and trust that it will have cross-Committee support as well. We all recognise that cyber threats do not respect national borders. Effective cyber security therefore requires international co-operation and information sharing. I think that is something that we all believe in. A lot of measures that we have been talking about would actually give teeth and powers to these organisations to make sure this happens. However, the amendment shows when things can go too far and the risks around that. There must surely be limits on where information obtained under UK statutory powers can subsequently be sent and how it can be used. The Bill will give NIS enforcement authorities the power to share information with overseas authorities. Amendment 73 would prevent such information being shared where the Secretary of State determines that the receiving jurisdiction cannot guarantee the right to a fair trial, or where disclosure could result in actions incompatible with that right. This is not a theoretical concern. We know that authoritarian states increasingly use apparently legitimate law enforcement processes as instruments of transnational repression. China provides perhaps the clearest example. There are well-documented concerns about the independence of its judiciary, particularly in national security cases, and the treatment of dissidents and human rights defenders.