Penalties. 10.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under any provision of this Act other than section 8(1), (4) or (5) shall be liable—
- (a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both;
- (b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under section 8(1), (4) or (5) above shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.
Arrest, search and trial.
1984 c. 60.
11.—(1) In section 24(2) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (arrestable offences) in paragraph (b) for the words “the Official Secrets Acts 1911 and 1920” there shall be substituted the words “the Official Secrets Act 1920” and after that paragraph there shall be inserted—
- “(bb) offences under any provision of the Official Secrets Act 1989 except section 8(1), (4) or (5);”
(2) Offences under any provision of this Act other than section 8(1), (4) or (5) and attempts to commit them shall be arrestable offences within the meaning of section 2 of the 1967 c. 18 (N.I.).Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967.
(3) Section 9(1) of the 1911 c. 28.Official Secrets Act 1911 (search warrants) shall have effect as if references to offences under that Act included references to offences under any provision of this Act other than section 8(1), (4) or (5); and the following provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, that is to say—
- (a) section 9(2) (which excludes items subject to legal privilege and certain other material from powers of search conferred by previous enactments); and
- (b) paragraph 3(b) of Schedule 1 (which prescribes access conditions for the special procedure laid down in that Schedule),
shall apply to section 9(1) of the said Act of 1911 as extended by this subsection as they apply to that section as originally enacted.
(4) Section 8(4) of the 1920 c. 75.Official Secrets Act 1920 (exclusion of public from hearing on grounds of national safety) shall have effect as if references to offences under that Act included references to offences under any provision of this Act other than section 8(1), (4) or (5).
(5) Proceedings for an offence under this Act may be taken in any place in the United Kingdom.
“Crown servant” and “government contractor”. 12.—(1) In this Act “Crown servant” means—
- (a) a Minister of the Crown;
- (b) a person appointed under section 8 of the 1973 c. 36.Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (the Northern Ireland Executive etc.);
- (c) any person employed in the civil service of the Crown, including Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service, Her Majesty’s Overseas Civil Service, the civil service of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Court Service;
