National Security (State Threats) Bill Committee: Amendment 13

Division 31 on Amendment 13 to the National Security (State Threats) Bill took place on 17 June 2026. The amendment was defeated by 258 votes to 135. The bill was being considered in committee, the stage at which MPs examine legislation line by line and propose changes to its text. The amendment sits within a broader package of proposed changes to the bill, which the government describes as essential to addressing growing state threat activity. The director general of MI5 had noted a rise of more than a third in the number of individuals under investigation for state threat work, and the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, framed the bill as a response to a security environment in which hostile actors have become more sophisticated. The detailed content of Amendment 13 itself is not fully set out in the available Hansard extracts, but the wider debate on the same day touched on concerns about executive power, parliamentary oversight, access to justice, and the scope of the Intelligence and Security Committee. The vote divided sharply along party lines. All 220 Labour MPs and 26 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the amendment, as did all five Green MPs and all four Plaid Cymru MPs. The Conservatives supplied 77 of the 135 votes in favour, with the Liberal Democrats adding 55. One Reform UK MP and one Democratic Unionist Party MP also voted for the amendment. Two independents voted on each side.