Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate on the report entitled Pegasus and similar spyware and secret state surveillance, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 11 October 2023.

The UK’s National Cyber Strategy commits the UK to countering the proliferation of high-end cyber capabilities and reducing the opportunity for states and organised crime groups to access them via commercial and criminal marketplaces, as well as tackling forums that enable, facilitate, or glamorise cyber criminality.

With respect to spyware specifically, it is vital that all cyber capabilities are used in ways that are legal, responsible, and proportionate to ensure cyberspace remains a safe and prosperous place for everyone. In March 2023, the United Kingdom signed the Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware alongside 10 other like-minded countries, including the United States. As part of this, the UK and other signatories recognised the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware, such as Pegasus, and the need to strictly control its proliferation at both a domestic and international level.

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides a legal framework for the use of investigatory powers by UK law enforcement and the intelligence community where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. The Act also contains strong safeguards, including a ‘double lock’, which requires warrants for the most intrusive powers to be authorised by a Secretary of State (or Chief Constable in case of Law Enforcement) and approved by a Judicial Commissioner, as well as rigorous independent oversight of their use by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner.