Section ( 4 ) further amends Section 58 ( 3 ) of the 2000 Act by adding that it is a reasonable excuse to collect such material if they did not realise the document or record was likely to contain information likely to be used by a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism , or whether the possession was for the purposes of journalism or academic research . The act was proposed to address activities of " hostile states " . According to the Home Office , " After the spate of terrorist attacks of last year and the deadly nerve agent attack in Salisbury , our intelligence services and police made the case for an update of existing legislation and some new powers to help meet their operational needs and respond to the evolving threats posed by terrorism and hostile state activity . " Home Secretary Sajid Javid said , " This important piece of legislation will allow the police and MI5 to disrupt threats earlier , and ensure our laws reflect modern use of the internet . It will change existing laws to better manage terrorist offenders and permit more effective investigations . "
nerve agent attack
Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019