While still onerous, timely interventions have led to dramatically improved legislation

Today, the UK’s National Security Act received royal assent and became law. The legislation was well advanced by the time a key new proposal emerged last year: a foreign influence registration scheme. Its aim, which we supported, was to curb malign covert foreign influence on the UK’s political processes. However, the scheme was likely ineffective against such covert activity, yet risked criminalising a huge range of individuals, charities, academics, businesses, and others for overt behaviours usually encouraged as benign.

Our briefings (including detailed and summary versions) set out the damaging consequences with examples. A wide cross-section of business, educational and charitable groups further elucidated the lost investment and chilling impact on the quality of international engagement with the UK that was threatened. In a fine example of the House of Lords in its revising function, the Government listened.

To find out what the scheme means in its final form and implications for business and investors our short (2 minute) article is here.