Introduction

1. The Intelligence and Security Committee is established under the Intelligence Services Act 1994 to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the United Kingdom's three Intelligence and Security Agencies: SIS, GCHQ and the Security Service. Committee members are notified under the Official Secrets Act 1989 and operate within the 'ring of secrecy'. We report directly to you on our work, and through you to Parliament.

2. In preparation for this Annual Report we have taken evidence from 47 separate witnesses. A full list is at Appendix 1 and includes:

- the Heads of SIS, GCHQ and the Security Service, and a number of their staff;

- officials from the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, the National Audit Office and the Department of Trade and Industry; and

- officials from law enforcement agencies and HM Customs and Excise.

3. Separately, we took evidence and published a special report on the intelligence aspects of the Sierra Leone affair. Recently, we made the appointment of John Morrison to the new post of Investigator to the Committee, implementing the recommendation made by the Committee in our last report and agreed by you. This year saw the departure of our first Clerk, Jonathan Alden, who had served the Committee so well since its inception, and we welcomed Alistair Corbett as his successor.

4. In addition to our formal evidence-taking sessions, we had informal update briefings with the heads of all three Agencies and received a briefing from the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) and officers of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS). We continue to take a close interest in and receive briefings on the activities of the DIS, due to the key role it plays in the UK intelligence community. The DIS is an important customer for the Agencies and provides them, in turn, with valuable technical advice, support and analysis.

5. We conducted a full Committee and a number of 'sub-group' visits to the three Agencies and their out-stations. The whole Committee visited the GCHQ and Security Service facilities in *** while the sub-group visits have concentrated on issues being pursued in formal Committee inquiries, including those of personnel management and personal files, meeting a broad range of staff involved at all levels.

6. We continue to take an interest in international developments in intelligence oversight. As part of this work two members of the Committee, supported by the Investigator and Clerk, attended the Bi-Annual Inspector-Generals' Conference in Canada during June. The Conference was attended by representatives from Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. The Committee have provisionally offered to host the next Conference in 2001. Additionally the Committee Chairman visited Estonia to speak to Ministers, their Parliamentary oversight committee and intelligence officials. A full list can be found at Appendix 2.

7. During the course of the year, we were again pleased to receive officials and Parliamentarians interested in the field of intelligence and oversight from a number of other countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary, South Korea, Romania, Poland and the Ukraine.

We welcome your comments on this site. Prepared 8 August 2000