Watching the Watchers: Report urges a stronger ISC

The Panel at the launch of 'Watching the Watchers' at Blackstone Chambers. Left-Right: Dr Daniella Lock; Lord Ricketts; Dominic Grieve KC; Sir Jeffrey Jowell KC; Ben Jaffey KC; (Lord) Andrew Tyrie. 

In a major report launched last week at Blackstone Chambers on the parliamentary oversight of Britain’s intelligence services, Andrew Tyrie, co-Chair and founder of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition set out an agenda for reform and strengthening of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC).

‘Watching the Watchers: The Intelligence and Security Committee: From Form to Substance’, published by the UCL Constitution Unit, sets out the unacceptable restrictions that successive governments have put on the ISC and the impact of this on the ISC’s work – including how it has thwarted all efforts to get to the truth about Britain’s facilitation of  extraordinary rendition. The report makes detailed proposals to remedy this, ideally by amending the Justice and Security Act 2013, and, failing that, by changes to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Prime Minister and the ISC.  

The report was launched at Blackstone Chambers, which hosted the APPG’s ‘Watching the Watchers’ conference in 2022; the research leading to this report was a direct outcome of that original conference. While not a publication of the APPG, the report is closely linked to the APPG’s work, in particular relating to the ISC’s attempts to investigate rendition.

The report was discussed by a panel comprising Lord Tyrie; Ben Jaffey KC of Blackstone; Dr Daniella Lock, lecturer in law at Kings College London; Lord Ricketts, former Permanent Secretary at the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2006-10) and National Security Adviser (2010-12); and Dominic Grieve KC, former Attorney General (2010-14) and ISC Chair (2015-19). The event was chaired by Sir Jeffrey Jowell KC of Blackstone Chambers and inaugural Director (2010-15) of the Bingham Centre on the Rule of Law.

There was a wide-ranging discussion with a strong panel of diverse views and an engaged audience. On some of the report's proposals, such as ensuring that government cannot stall the timely publication of the ISC's reports, there was widespread agreement; on others, less agreement and more debate. The APPG is very grateful to Blackstone Chambers for hosting and organising such a valuable and enjoyable event.  

In addition to links (below) to the report and to the APPG’s media release, you can find Andrew Tyrie’s summary of his report in an article in the Constitution Unit blog.