Transfer of National Security to MI5
On 24 February 2005 the then Secretary of State, Paul Murphy announced that, during 2007, the Security Service (often known as MI5) would assume lead responsibility for national security intelligence work, thus aligning the arrangements in Northern Ireland with those that apply in the rest of the United Kingdom. It was stated at the time that this transfer for responsibility will in no way diminish the role of the PSNI in intelligence gathering in areas other than national security, nor on its ability to mount executive policing operations, make arrests or take forward prosecutions. Since the announcement, the Policing Board has received regular briefings from PSNI and the Security Services.
The Policing Board is responsible for securing the delivery of an effective and efficient policing service which has the confidence of the public. The Policing Board has an implicit duty, therefore, to satisfy itself that the arrangements that are being put in place for the transfer of responsibility for National Security Intelligence will not adversely impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of the police service. The Policing Board has a duty to provide public reassurance that this is the case so that public confidence in the police ability to tackle crime, criminality and organised crime will not be impaired by the transfer. As detailed in the St Andrew’s Agreement the transfer arrangements in Northern Ireland need to reflect the “unique interface in Northern Ireland between national security and serious and organised crime”.
In their second Human Rights Annual Report the Policing Board’s Human Rights Advisors highlighted this issue and recommended that:
“Before the transfer of responsibility for national security intelligence work in Northern Ireland takes effect, the PSNI and the Policing Board should devise a framework to ensure that the transfer does not affect the compliance of the PSNI with the Human Rights Act 1998 or the Policing Board’s ability to monitor such compliance.”