Protecting legal privilege: Foreign Influence Registration Scheme
Legal professional privilege (LPP) is a recognised human right and an ancient common law right that belongs to clients.
We’re pleased to see our key ask – for LPP to be properly protected – included in as part of the government’s new Foreign Influence Registration (FIR) Scheme.
What is the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme?
The FIR Scheme is a government-managed register of certain declared arrangements and activities that are directed by a foreign principal.
The scheme will be introduced under the National Security Bill, which aims to counter threats to national security from espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers.
The scheme will:
- increase the transparency of political influencing activity being carried out for a foreign power or entity
- help safeguard UK democratic institutions from covert influence, and
- better inform government as to the nature, scale and extent of foreign influence in UK political affairs
The scheme will be introduced under the National Security Bill, which aims to counter threats to national security from espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers.
The bill passed through the House of Commons on 17 November 2022.
Find out how the FIR scheme will work
Why legal professional privilege matters
Being able to take legal advice in confidence is a key part of our justice system.
Without a protection in the FIR Scheme to safeguard people’s right to LPP, we were concerned solicitors acting for foreign principals (or related clients) would have to disclose privileged information.
This would inhibit clients’ ability to be open with their lawyer when seeking legal advice or resolving disputes.
If LPP is undermined, this would profoundly compromise the rule of law and the fairness of trials.
Our work to protect legal privilege
Over the past year, we lobbied the government to amend the bill to protect LPP.
We have:
- raised concerns in our response to the Home Office consultation on countering state threats
- followed up with civil servants at the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office
- presented oral evidence to the parliamentary committee in July 2022
The bill was amended in September 2022.
Our concerns
We are still concerned that the definition of legal services to be exempted from registering with the scheme:
- is not sufficiently broad
- does not reflect the extent of legal services provided by law firms
This could impact the UK’s reputation as one of the world’s most attractive jurisdictions for cross-border business and trade, and as a key destination for foreign investment.
We’ve raised these concerns with government officials.
We also have concerns on other aspects of the bill, particularly around reforms that aim to prevent convicted terrorists from accessing civil legal aid. These changes need scrutiny to ensure they do not infringe on access to justice or curtail legal rights.
Next steps
We’ll continue to brief parliamentarians on our concerns as the bill progresses through the House of Lords.