‘A Unique and Special Committee’: The Intelligence and Security Committee

Abstract

The establishment of the ISC was a significant step in the development of parliamentary oversight of the British intelligence and security agencies. The ISC operates within the ‘ring of secrecy’ and has therefore for the first time allowed MPs and Peers to have wide-ranging access to the intelligence and security agencies, documents and staff. Moreover, it has also exposed intelligence agency staff to parliamentarians and the democratic process in a way which had not been required in the past. The ISC sets its own agenda and, although its proceedings remain secret, it publishes annual reports, and it has also produced a number of additional reports both on subjects of its own choosing and at the request of governments. Moreover, the Committee has expanded its remit somewhat since 1994. Although its mandate was limited to the examination of the ‘administration, policy and expenditure’ of the intelligence and security agencies, it has shown an increasing propensity to consider operational matters. According to a number of studies, the Committee has exceeded expectations in terms of access to information and has sought to establish itself as a serious critic of the agencies, for example, with reports on intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the handling of detainees by British intelligence personnel, and rendition (Gill and Phythian, 2006; Glees et al., 2006; Phythian 2007).KeywordsPrime MinisterOperational MatterSecurity AgencySelect CommitteeIntelligence CommunityThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.