The UK's proposed new national security regime: a sledgehammer to crack a nut

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Nicholas Levy ◽  
John Messent ◽  
Edward Dean ◽  
Chloe Hassard
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Regulatory Environment ◽  
Secretary Of State ◽  
Security Regime ◽  
The World ◽  
Most Significant Change ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

On 11 November 2020, the UK Government published the National Security and Investment Bill (NSI Bill), which, if approved by Parliament, would allow the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Secretary of State) to screen and prohibit ‘potentially hostile’ investments that threatened UK national security. The proposed system would represent the most significant change in the UK regulatory environment since the Government ceded the power to approve or prohibit mergers on competition grounds to an independent agency in 2002. The envisaged regime would be among the most wide-ranging and onerous in the world, adding a new layer of mandatory review and imposing non-trivial costs on investments in any company with UK activity. This article describes the UK's existing public interest intervention regime, explains the background to the Government's proposed new regime, including similar initiatives elsewhere in the world, summarizes the principal features of the proposed new UK regime, and considers its potential implications for investments in the UK.

The UK's proposed foreign direct investment regime: the tide is turning

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
Veronica Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
National Security ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Security Risk ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

The UK Government has recently published a White Paper proposing the creation of a new foreign investment regime, under which the Government would have powers to review a very broad range of transactions if they give rise to a national security risk. This article reviews the key provisions of the Government's proposal and also highlights the broader global context, with a number of other countries also expanding their own foreign investment regimes.

scholarly journals National Security as a Public Interest Consideration in UK Merger Control

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-73
Author(s):  
Ioannis Kokkoris
Keyword(s):  
Mergers And Acquisitions ◽  
National Security ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Merger Control ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Legislative Initiative ◽  
Control Set ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

The article will discuss the boundaries of UK merger control set by national security concerns against the background of public interest considerations in the decisional practice of the competent authorities. The article will first present an overview of the existing legal framework for considering public interest when reviewing mergers and acquisitions in strategic industries or companies. It will then present the main precedents where issues of national security were raised and will discuss how the CMA and the Secretary of State assessed these transactions from both a competition and national security angle. Finally, the article will present the recent legislative initiative by the UK Government to extend national security grounds reflects a new approach towards FDI.

UK Merger Control

2021 ◽  
pp. 169-200
Author(s):  
David Reader
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
National Security ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Merger Control ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Dark Ages ◽  
The World ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Uk

In Chapter 7, David Reader observes that the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002 formally ended a much maligned public interest approach to merger control in the UK, oft-criticized for the uncertainty permeated by ministerial decision-making. In its place came a new competition-based test to be applied by independent competition authorities with new powers and resources at their disposal. Despite encountering some teething problems as the authorities sought to interpret their respective roles at Phases 1 and 2, the reforms have proven largely successful in delivering one of the most transparent and predictable merger regimes in the world. This chapter reflects on the evolution of UK merger control under the Enterprise Act, observing that a combination of major—and finer-tuning of the competition authority’s Phase 1 enforcement powers has enabled it to effectively deliver upon its mandate. New challenges lie in wait, however, and Reader stresses that the CMA must be allocated the resources and statutory remit to contend with the increased workload implications presented by Brexit and the novel theories of harm associated with mergers in the digital sector. Of further concern are recent reforms to extend the national security public interest ground, which risk a return to the ‘dark ages’ of opaque ministerial decision-making if further safeguards are not implemented.

scholarly journals ‘Guided by the science’: (De)politicising the UK government’s response to the coronavirus crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 136914812110549
Author(s):  
Steven Kettell ◽  
Peter Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
National Security ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Daily Press ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

This article sets out to examine the politicising and depoliticising effects of the various stories that were deployed by the UK government in its response to the coronavirus crisis during its daily press briefings over a 2-month period between 16 March and 16 May 2020. In doing so, we identify four key narratives: (1) unprecedented government activism; (2) working to plan; (3) national security, wartime unity and sacrifice; and (4) scientific guidance. Through a quantitative and qualitative study of the deployment of these narratives, we attempt to further recent theoretical insights on depoliticisation by noting that the COVID-19 crisis produced a particular type of crisis moment in which the government was forced to respond in ‘real time’ to a set of circumstances which were rapidly changing. As such, this made it much more difficult to control the various stories they wanted to tell and therefore find a coherent ‘anchor’ for their politicising and depoliticising strategies. This led to some deft discursive footwork as the government sought to pass the ball of responsibility between various groups of actors in order to rapidly and continually shift the balance between avoiding blame and taking credit.

Normative Juridical Review Comparison of Land Acquisition Regulations for Railway Infrastructure between Indonesia and Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhina Setyo Oktaria ◽  
Agustinus Prasetyo Edi Wibowo
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Influencing Factor ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
The People ◽  
Railway Infrastructure ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Land acquisition for public purposes, including for the construction of railroad infrastructure, is a matter that is proposed by all countries in the world. The Indonesian government or the Malaysian royal government needs land for railroad infrastructure development. To realize this, a regulation was made that became the legal umbrella for the government or royal government. The people must agree to regulations that require it. Land acquisition for public use in Malaysia can be completed quickly in Indonesia. The influencing factor is the different perceptions of the understanding of what are in the public interest, history and legal systems of the two countries as well as the people's reaction from the two countries

scholarly journals Rhetorical uses of precise numbers and semi-magical round numbers in political discourse about COVID-19: Examples from the government of the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 095792652110131
Author(s):  
Michael Billig
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
British Government ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Round Numbers ◽  
Magical Power ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper examines how the British government has used statistics about COVID-19 for political ends. A distinction is made between precise and round numbers. Historically, using round numbers to estimate the spread of disease gave way in the 19th century to the sort precise, but not necessarily accurate, statistics that are now being used to record COVID-19. However, round numbers have continued to exert rhetorical, ‘semi-magical’ power by simultaneously conveying both quantity and quality. This is demonstrated in examples from the British government’s claims about COVID-19. The paper illustrates how senior members of the UK government use ‘good’ round numbers to frame their COVID-19 goals and to announce apparent achievements. These round numbers can provide political incentives to manipulate the production of precise number; again examples from the UK government are given.

scholarly journals Changing the rules of the game: some necessary legal reforms to United Kingdom intelligence

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN LEIGH
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
The Us ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Rules Of The Game

AbstractThis article argues that there is a need to modernise the law governing accountability of the UK security and intelligence agencies following changes in their work in the last decade. Since 9/11 the agencies have come increasingly into the spotlight, especially because of the adoption of controversial counter-terrorism policies by the government (in particular forms of executive detention) and by its international partners, notably the US. The article discusses the options for reform in three specific areas: the use in legal proceedings of evidence obtained by interception of communications; with regard to the increased importance and scle of collaboration with overseas agencies; and to safeguard the political independence of the agencies in the light of their substantially higher public profile. In each it is argued that protection of human rights and the need for public accountability requires a new balance to be struck with the imperatives of national security.

Parliamentary Oversight of Independent Regulatory Authorities in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-501
Author(s):  
Surendra Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Policy ◽  
Regulatory Reform ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Regulatory Environment ◽  
Regulatory Authorities ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Parliamentary Oversight

Independent regulatory authorities have become an important component of the governance landscape in India and elsewhere. Some regulators have achieved useful outcomes in India. However, the creation of independent sectoral regulators in India has not been accompanied by critical reflection on their role, or attention to the political, legal and institutional contexts within which they operate. Lessons can be learnt from mature regulatory policy countries, such as the USA, the UK and Australia, that the regulatory environment needs to be constantly evaluated to make sure it is keeping pace with the changing technology, business environment and consumer needs and demands. Despite the number of bodies in India that are involved or responsible for regulatory reform, there is one function that seems to be missing and that is of a central oversight function. Most countries have an explicit whole of government regulatory policy and an oversight body, sometimes more than one, that is/are responsible for embedding some of the systemic tools across different parts of the government machinery.

Narrative Misdirection? UK Strategic Communication for Afghanistan and Beyond

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-392
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Cawkwell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
The World ◽  
Communication Approach ◽  
The Uk

Britain’s war in Afghanistan – specifically its latter stages, where the UK’s role and casualties sustained in the conflict rose dramatically – coincided with the institutional emergence of Ministry of Defence-led ‘Strategic Communication’. This article examines the circumstances through which domestic strategic communication developed within the UK state and the manner in which the ‘narratives’ supporting Britain’s role in Afghanistan were altered, streamlined and ‘securitised’. I argue that securitising the Afghanistan narrative was undertaken with the intention of misdirecting an increasingly sceptical UK public from the failure of certain aspects of UK counter-insurgency strategy – specifically its counter-narcotics and stabilisation efforts – by focusing on counter-terrorism, and of avoiding difficult questions about the UK’s transnational foreign and defence policy outlook vis-à-vis the United States by asserting that Afghanistan was primarily a ‘national security’ issue. I conclude this article by arguing that the UK’s domestic strategic communication approach of emphasising ‘national security interests’ may have created the conditions for institutionalised confusion by reinforcing a narrow, self-interested narrative of Britain’s role in the world that runs counter to its ongoing, ‘transnationalised’ commitments to collective security through the United States and NATO.

Compensating Landholders in Tanzania

2015 ◽  
pp. 374-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfrey E. Massay
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Fair Compensation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Legislative Amendments ◽  
The Government ◽  
Land Policies

Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania, liberalized their land policies in the early 1990s because of the pressure from neo-liberal institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. The 1999 Tanzanian Land Laws are hailed to be the most progressive legislations in the Sub-Saharan region in terms of decentralization of land administrative powers and protection of customary tenure. However, they are still hampered with both policy weakness and implementation challenges. The standards used in compensation are still weak and unclear and subject to arbitrariness. Consequently, foreign investors or the government in cases of public interest acquisitions can acquire land without fully compensating the landholders. For land holders to get fair compensation in Tanzania there is need for both legislative amendments and change in practice. This chapter explores the compensation of landholders in Tanzania.

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