Intelligence and Security Committee

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The Intelligence and Security Committee was established by the UK Intelligence Services Act of 1994 to oversee British intelligence agencies. It is a unique committee, as it is not a committee of Parliament, but consists of nine parliamentarians appointed by the Prime Minister and reporting to him. It has been argued that the ISC should be a select committee of Parliament, but in practice it has greater powers than a select committee: in its inquiry into the Vasili Mitrokhin affair it was able to obtain papers from former administrations and official advice to ministers, both of which are forbidden to select committees.

After each general election the Prime Minister appoints the nine parliamentarians to the committee in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Members are mostly from the House of Commons, but at least one must be from the House of Lords. Serving ministers are not allowed to be members, but several members have previously held ministerial positions. Details of the most recent committee, including its final report and the government's response, are on its web page[1]. The committee ceases to exist when Parliament is dissolved; after the election the Prime Minister reforms the committee.

The Committee's formal responsibilities are to examine the expenditure, administration and policies of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Security Service (MI5) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It has however in practice extended its oversight responsibilities to include the Defence Intelligence Staff [2] and Cabinet Office Joint Intelligence Committee machinery. Its own views of its responsibilities are set out in a brochure on oversight[3].

The work of the committee is invariably conducted in secret, though a sanitised annual report is issued. The committee also produces reports on issues of particular concern, either on its own initiative or at the request of government ministers. From 1999 to 2004 the committee employed an Investigator, John Morrison.

As of 2006, the current committee members are: