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06-30-2004, 08:05 AM
Intelligence and Security Committee Annual Report for 2003-2004 Published Today
(UK Cabinet Office; June 29, 2004)
The Intelligence and Security Committee’s Annual Report 2003-2004, produced under the Intelligence Services Act 1994, was laid before Parliament today by the Prime Minister.
Commenting about the Annual Report, which was delivered to the Prime Minister on 26 May 2004, the Committee Chairman, The Rt. Hon. Ann Taylor MP, said ‘Since the Committee’s last Annual Report 2002-2003 (May 2003) and our Report Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – Intelligence and Assessments (September 2003) we have taken evidence on a wide range of subjects. In covering our statutory remit of the Agencies’ administration, policy and expenditure we took evidence on matters such as counter-espionage, International Co-operation on Terrorism and the processes for setting requirements and priorities for the UK intelligence community.
‘During the past year we have taken evidence from the Foreign, Home, Defence and Transport Secretaries as well as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Attorney General. We also took evidence from heads of the Security Service, SIS, GCHQ and DIS, as well as the Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and officials from the Agencies and relevant departments.
‘The period covered by the Annual Report was an extremely difficult one for the whole of the UK’s intelligence community, as not only is the UK faced with greater threats and challenges than before but the work of the community was also subjected to intense public scrutiny. However, we believe that the staffs of the intelligence and security Agencies, along with their counterparts in other parts of the intelligence community, have continued to gather intelligence to identify, monitor, report and disrupt threats to the UK and its interests – and we commend them for that. A good example of an intelligence success was the work undertaken by the SIS, assisted by the FCO and CIA, in obtaining Libya’s commitment to disband its weapons of mass destruction.
‘In the Annual Report we comment on how much of the Agencies’ work is directed to counter terrorism and how the formation of the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has been a success because it effectively brought together the counter terrorism expertise in one place. However, we express concern that, because of the necessary additional effort allocated to counter terrorism, risks are being taken in the area of counter espionage and that other important work is not being carried out as fully as Ministers and the Agencies themselves would wish.
‘We comment and make recommendations on a number of issues relating to the Agencies’ expenditure, administration and policy – in particular the recruitment and legal matters. We also record the fact that GCHQ finally produced a set of resource accounts which were not qualified by the National Audit Office and that it is successfully transferring into the new building whilst maintaining the signet service to its customers. We have been monitoring GCHQ’s New Accommodation Programme for over five years, having first highlighted the significant increase in the technical transition costs in our Annual Report 1999-2000.
‘We discuss the work of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Assessments Staff and the role that Ministers have in setting priorities for the Agencies – including the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee on the Intelligence Services for some eight years. We also record our intent to take further evidence on the Defence Intelligence Staff and that we have started taking evidence on the usefulness of intelligence gained from the interviewing of detainees by UK intelligence personnel and the treatment of the detainees by these personnel.
‘We record our considerable concern that while conducting our Report Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – Intelligence and Assessments eight JIC papers were erroneously not given to us but, having now read them, we state that they would not have led us to change our conclusions.
‘The Annual Report also contains a section on the ambitious SCOPE program, which is designed to transform the way in which the intelligence community operates, and our view that more work needs to be done to identify the vulnerabilities of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure to electronic attack. The Committee visited BBC Monitoring and we comment on the work undertaken by the Government to support this important organization.”
(UK Cabinet Office; June 29, 2004)
The Intelligence and Security Committee’s Annual Report 2003-2004, produced under the Intelligence Services Act 1994, was laid before Parliament today by the Prime Minister.
Commenting about the Annual Report, which was delivered to the Prime Minister on 26 May 2004, the Committee Chairman, The Rt. Hon. Ann Taylor MP, said ‘Since the Committee’s last Annual Report 2002-2003 (May 2003) and our Report Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – Intelligence and Assessments (September 2003) we have taken evidence on a wide range of subjects. In covering our statutory remit of the Agencies’ administration, policy and expenditure we took evidence on matters such as counter-espionage, International Co-operation on Terrorism and the processes for setting requirements and priorities for the UK intelligence community.
‘During the past year we have taken evidence from the Foreign, Home, Defence and Transport Secretaries as well as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Attorney General. We also took evidence from heads of the Security Service, SIS, GCHQ and DIS, as well as the Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and officials from the Agencies and relevant departments.
‘The period covered by the Annual Report was an extremely difficult one for the whole of the UK’s intelligence community, as not only is the UK faced with greater threats and challenges than before but the work of the community was also subjected to intense public scrutiny. However, we believe that the staffs of the intelligence and security Agencies, along with their counterparts in other parts of the intelligence community, have continued to gather intelligence to identify, monitor, report and disrupt threats to the UK and its interests – and we commend them for that. A good example of an intelligence success was the work undertaken by the SIS, assisted by the FCO and CIA, in obtaining Libya’s commitment to disband its weapons of mass destruction.
‘In the Annual Report we comment on how much of the Agencies’ work is directed to counter terrorism and how the formation of the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has been a success because it effectively brought together the counter terrorism expertise in one place. However, we express concern that, because of the necessary additional effort allocated to counter terrorism, risks are being taken in the area of counter espionage and that other important work is not being carried out as fully as Ministers and the Agencies themselves would wish.
‘We comment and make recommendations on a number of issues relating to the Agencies’ expenditure, administration and policy – in particular the recruitment and legal matters. We also record the fact that GCHQ finally produced a set of resource accounts which were not qualified by the National Audit Office and that it is successfully transferring into the new building whilst maintaining the signet service to its customers. We have been monitoring GCHQ’s New Accommodation Programme for over five years, having first highlighted the significant increase in the technical transition costs in our Annual Report 1999-2000.
‘We discuss the work of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Assessments Staff and the role that Ministers have in setting priorities for the Agencies – including the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee on the Intelligence Services for some eight years. We also record our intent to take further evidence on the Defence Intelligence Staff and that we have started taking evidence on the usefulness of intelligence gained from the interviewing of detainees by UK intelligence personnel and the treatment of the detainees by these personnel.
‘We record our considerable concern that while conducting our Report Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – Intelligence and Assessments eight JIC papers were erroneously not given to us but, having now read them, we state that they would not have led us to change our conclusions.
‘The Annual Report also contains a section on the ambitious SCOPE program, which is designed to transform the way in which the intelligence community operates, and our view that more work needs to be done to identify the vulnerabilities of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure to electronic attack. The Committee visited BBC Monitoring and we comment on the work undertaken by the Government to support this important organization.”