While the UK Government has acknowledged and responded to TNR, its responses have so far focused on threats to sovereignty and national security, rather than TNR’s impact on the exercise of fundamental rights and democratic resilience. As a result, its responses to date have been sparse, incoherent and largely inaccessible to targeted communities and individuals.
Defending Democracy Taskforce
The first meeting of the Defending Democracy Taskforce took place in November 2022 “to protect the democratic integrity of the UK from threats of foreign interference.” Outlined by the Home Office, the Taskforce works across government and with Parliament, the UK Intelligence Community, the devolved administrations, local authorities and the private sector on the full range of threats facing our democratic institutions.
The Taskforce commenced a review into the UK Government’s response to TNR, which concluded in May 2025. While this has informed Government policy and its response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into TNR (see below), the outcome of the review has never been made public.
Following a FOI request from the Byline Times, the Home Office refused to disclose “the agenda, minutes, readouts, or briefings for ministers from the Defending Democracy Taskforce”, citing national security exemptions. However, the request did reveal the fact that the Taskforce had no dedicated funding and that “staffing appears to be declining, from the equivalent of 12 full-time members of staff for two years after its launch in 2022. It has dropped to 8.5 full-time equivalent staffers for this year, 2025-2026.”
National Security Act
Passed in 2023, the National Security Act aimed to respond to threats to national security from espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers. Section 31 of the Act outlines the foreign power condition, which is active if actions carried out by an individual are done for or on behalf of a foreign power. If this condition is met, then it is treated as an aggravating factor to be taken into account when the person is being sentenced.
Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) Inquiry on TNR
On 24 January 2025, the JCHR announced an inquiry into TNR to “look at how transnational repression affects the human rights of people living in the UK. It will explore if enough support and protection is available to groups deemed at particular risk of harm. The inquiry will also examine the effectiveness of the Government’s response to transnational repression and the effectiveness of policies and frameworks intended to prevent it.”
The inquiry ran until 24 February 2025, with oral evidence sessions taking place until 5 May. The written and oral evidence can be accessed. The Working Group submitted evidence, which is available here.
On 30 July, the JCHR published its report on the inquiry. In its summary, it confirmed “the UK currently lacks a clear strategy to address TNR. There is no formal definition of transnational repression in the UK and the Government does not routinely collect data on TNR events. Understanding the scale and nature of the threat is essential to formulating effective and proportionate responses.” It also raised concerns about the level of training available to law enforcement and called on the government to apply pressure on Interpol.
The Committee also said: “Transnational repression is a serious and under-recognised threat that requires urgent and coordinated international action. Its impacts extend far beyond those directly targeted, creating a broader ‘chilling effect’ on entire communities and undermining fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, assembly, and association.”
Published on 30 October, the Government responded to the Committee’s report rebutting a number of the report’s recommendations and conclusions. The weakness of the response led the Committee to send a letter to the then-Home Office stating they “were disappointed in several areas where the Government did not accept our recommendations.”
The Working Group also wrote to the Home Secretary setting out our concerns about the Government’s response: namely, the lack of transparency, the absence of a clear definition of TNR, and limited plans to engage affected communities. You can see our full letter here.
UK Government
On 14 May 2025, the UK Government published guidance outlining what to do if anyone thinks they are the victim of transnational repression.
While they describe the impact of TNR as “targeted and specific”, the guidance outlines digital security guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and 999 or 101 as the sole way in which TNR can be reported to officials, despite this having no specific or tailored support offerings for TNR.