The UK government aims for this protection to be achieved by a mandatory registration scheme for   individuals and organisations if they are acting on behalf of a foreign government or state-controlled entity to influence UK affairs.  This register will be publicly available, creating a record of foreign influence activity in the UK. To give the scheme teeth, non-compliance with it, or providing false information on the register, will be criminal offences. 

Whilst diplomatic missions in London still have the protections that flow from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and are usually exempt from FIRS registration themselves, much of their official work requires the instructions of third parties who will be liable for registration. Therefore, such missions, and those who work for them, need to understand FIRS, its implications and significance. 

Understanding the Scope of the Law 

FIRS creates a two tier system of registration requirements. 

 The first tier (which all but two states fall into) requires those acting “under the direction” of a foreign power to register within 28 days if they are involved in political influence activity in the UK. 

A foreign power includes: 

• the sovereign or other head of a foreign state,

• a foreign government, or part of a foreign government (for example, a ministry or department of a foreign government and a diplomatic mission);

• an agency or authority of a foreign government, or of part of a foreign government (for example, a police force or military of a foreign government),

• an authority responsible for administering the affairs of an area within a foreign country or territory (for example, a local government authority in a foreign country);

• a political party which is a governing political party of a foreign government.      

Political influence activities include communications made to senior public officials or politicians (for example, emails or meetings), public communications (for example, the publication of an article) or disbursements (for example, the provision of goods or services) which are intended to influence one of the following: 

• an election or referendum in the UK

• a decision of a Minister or Government department (including a Minister or Government department of Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland)

• the proceedings of a UK registered political party (such as their manifesto commitments)

• a Member of the House of Commons, House of Lords, Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament or Senedd Cymru  

Exemptions from registration under this tier apply to: 

• foreign powers acting overtly (for example, diplomats acting in their official capacity)

• diplomatic family members supporting the work of a diplomat

• lawyers carrying out legal activities

• recognised news publishers

• sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds carrying out political influence activities associated with their investments

• those in an arrangement to which the UK is a party 

The second tier is the “enhanced tier”, for those instructed by a specified foreign power or a specified foreign power-controlled organisation to carry out, or arrange for others to carry out, ‘relevant activities’ in the UK. 

The foreign powers and organisations currently specified under the enhanced tier are from Russia and Iran.  The scope of relevant activities is very broad and potentially includes commercial activities, research activities and the provision of goods and services.  In essence this requires any work done on behalf of a designated state to be registered.  

What effect does FIRS have on diplomats and diplomatic missions? 

FIRS includes an exemption for diplomats and their families. However, that exemption might not apply to many of those who are instructed on behalf of missions and diplomats.  This could include public relations firms and strategic consultancies, who may now need to register that instruction.  In turn this will likely result in increased scrutiny of the activity of the diplomatic mission. The scheme may also affect the willingness of certain businesses to act on behalf of some states. 

Similarly, should a mission instruct someone to lobby the UK Government or even to facilitate a meeting between themselves and UK Government officials, it may trigger FIRS registration.    Questions also arise as to whether FIRS may apply if diplomats act beyond their “official capacity”.  In practice this may mean the same distinction as found in immunities law, where there is a distinction between sovereign acts and those of a private law nature.  

The Implications of FIRS 

The scheme should increase transparency and accountability in UK politics, which can only be a good thing.  But it opens the door to certain challenges.   For example, the designation of states under the “enhanced tier” has already attracted controversy, with the Financial Times publishing a piece regarding the omission of China from that designation. However, the list of states under the enhanced tier remains under review, and future governments may expand this list in response to shifting alliances or internal political mood. 

FIRS raises questions about the administrative burden being put on diplomatic missions in the UK.  Such missions are already facing unprecedented demands as a result of the lowering of state and diplomatic immunity protections.  FIRS now arguably inhibits diplomats instructing third parties even for official work. Given that such instructions will become public knowledge, states will have to think carefully about which consultants and third parties they retain. 

Ultimately the transparency that FIRS aims to bring should be welcomed. Diplomats in the UK can now seize the initiative to show that transparency is not a threat, but a principle that they embrace.