Jim Allister

Jim Allister

Traditional Unionist Voice — North Antrim

Speaking in the House of Commons on 3 December 2025

Debate

Official Secrets Act and Espionage

Contribution

Today, the Minister has again said that the reason the case collapsed was the inadequacy of the 1911 Act. That raises this obvious question: how come these two gentlemen were ever charged in the first place? The evidential test at the moment they were charged is exactly the same as the evidential test when the case was dropped, so how did they come to be charged under this Act if it was inadequate? Is it not quite clear that the Act was more than adequate to charge them and more than adequate to convict them?

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