The Government has released further details on the recently enacted National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, confirming that legitimate journalistic activity will be protected under the law.

In advance of the Act becoming law, various media organisations warned that its original drafting could lead to journalists working in danger-zones finding themselves being prosecuted under a new offence targeting those who support, assist, or obtain ‘material benefits’ from organisations designated as engaging in ‘foreign power threat activity’. Under the law, ‘material benefits’ include ‘information’, and so journalists were concerned that they risked prosecution if they received and used information from sources within such designated organisations.

Dawn Alford, Chief Executive of the Society of Editors, was one of many calling for the Bill to be amended, explaining that “foreign correspondents and investigative journalists often need to engage with dangerous organisations and individuals in order to expose wrongdoing and inform the public. They should not be left relying on prosecutorial discretion to determine whether legitimate newsgathering is lawful”. She added that “If there is any ambiguity, Parliament should take the opportunity to make explicit on the face of the Bill that bona fide journalistic activity carried out in the public interest is not criminalised. Clear legal protection is preferable to relying on assurances about how the law may be applied”.

Those concerns were shared by members of the House of Lords, including the current and former independent reviewers of terrorism legislation, and amendments were tabled to provide that if the ‘material benefit’ that a person receives consists of, or includes, information, it is a defence for the relevant person to show that they had a reasonable excuse for the conduct.

Those amendments were accepted in the House of Commons and can be found at s.17C(8) of the Act. Addressing the House, the Security Minister, Dame Angela Eagle, reassured members that, with the amendments accepted, the Government is “very confident that the Bill as it is written does not place journalists in any jeopardy”. That assurance is repeated in the Fact Sheet that accompanied the Act when it became law, which states that “legitimate activity, such as diplomatic and humanitarian engagement and journalistic freedoms, is protected”.

The Act received Royal Assent and came into force on 8 July 2026. To read it in full, click here.