Section 438

Information obtained by or on behalf of a relevant authority in connection with the exercise of any of the authority's functions under, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8 may be disclosed by the authority if the disclosure is for the purposes of any of the following— any criminal investigation which is being or may be carried out, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere; any criminal proceedings which have been or may be started, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere; the exercise of the authority's functions under, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8; the exercise by the prosecutor of functions under Parts 2, 3 and 4; the exercise by the Scottish Ministers of their functions under Part 5 or 8; the exercise by a customs officer , an accredited financial investigator , a constable or an SFO officer of his functions under Chapter 3 , 3A , 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E or 3F of Part 5; the exercise of any functions of the National Crime Agency or another relevant authority under, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8; safeguarding national security; investigations or proceedings outside the United Kingdom which have led or may lead to the making of an external order within the meaning of section 447; the exercise of a designated function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If a relevant authority makes a disclosure of information for a purpose specified in subsection (1) the authority may make any further disclosure of the information by the person to whom the authority discloses it subject to such conditions as the authority thinks fit. Such a person must not further disclose the information in contravention of the conditions. A disclosure under this section is not to be taken to breach any restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed). But nothing in this section authorises the making of a disclosure— which contravenes the data protection legislation; which is prohibited by any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. This section does not affect a power to disclose which exists apart from this section. This section applies to information obtained before the coming into force of subsection (10) as well as to information obtained after the coming into force of that subsection. A designated function is a function which the Secretary of State thinks is a function of a public nature and which he designates by order. In this section “relevant authority” has the same meaning as in section 435.

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Source: legislation.gov.uk · retrieved 2026-09-04