The intelligence agencies MI6 and GCHQ may have illegally authorised informants to commit serious crimes in the UK, a security tribunal has heard. The revelation came as a summary was released of a previously closed judgment by the investigatory powers tribunal, which oversees complaints against government surveillance and spy operations. The ruling said the agencies’ informants, known as covert human intelligence sources (CHIS), may have been allowed “to participate in criminal activity in the United Kingdom”, and raised the question of “whether that conduct was lawful”. MI6 appears to be operating the policy despite parliament having given the spy agency powers to break the law only overseas, under section 7 of the Intelligence Services Act, the tribunal heard. However, Whitehall sources said that the litigation process had not yet been concluded and cautioned against those making “assumptions” about MI6’s powers and intentions. The evidence emerged in a case brought by a coalition of civil liberties groups including Reprieve, the Pat Finucane Centre, Privacy International and the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) in Belfast. The case revolves around what is known as the “third direction”, guidelines permitting agents of MI5 to become involved in criminal conduct, which was revealed in 2018. Addressing the tribunal, Ben Jaffey QC, representing the civil liberties groups, said: “Until yesterday morning we had absolutely no idea that [MI6] or GCHQ considered they have power to commit crime in the UK … It was very difficult to believe this was occurring. “MI6 and GCHQ couldn’t possibly be conducting criminality in UK, as the third direction only refers to the Security Service [MI5]. There’s no provision for oversight of crime by [MI6] or GCHQ. I couldn’t believe the position without statutory oversight, as this is a more or less guaranteed breach of the [European convention on human rights]. More fool me.” It was the second time in two days that MI6 procedures had been called into question, after the release of a critical report on Tuesday by the investigatory powers commissioner, who monitors the spy agency’s use of covert powers. That report said MI6 last year failed to make clear to the foreign secretary that a “high-risk agent” operating overseas had probably engaged in “serious criminality” until the watchdog pointed it out. The spy agency had been seeking to authorise the agent’s activities under section 7 of the Intelligence Services Act, nicknamed the “licence to kill”, but had not made explicit that red lines prohibiting criminal behaviour had been breached. The act allows British agents operating abroad to break the law without fear of prosecution in the UK, as long as they have the permission of the foreign secretary of the day. Maya Foa, the director of Reprieve, said: “We’ve learned today that MI6 unilaterally assumed the power to authorise unchecked agent law-breaking on UK soil, going far beyond the rules set for them by parliament … Parliament should think twice about giving assent to the government’s CHIS bill, which places no express limits on agent law-breaking even for crimes like murder, torture, or rape.” Daniel Holder, deputy director of the CAJ, said: “The Northern Ireland peace process was predicated on a future of law enforcement accountability including for covert policing, with the PSNI subject to powerful oversight bodies … It now transpires another agency, MI6, can also run and ‘authorise’ informants to commit crimes here, but on the basis of a policy kept entirely secret.” Paul O’Connor, the director of the Pat Finucane Centre, said: “It is not surprising that a government that refuses to properly investigate the role of its own intelligence agencies in the 1989 murder of Pat Finucane would turn a blind eye to criminal authorisations in 2020.” A government spokesperson said: “As this is an ongoing legal matter, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.” In a separate case on Wednesday, the high court dismissed a civil claim brought by Rangzieb Ahmed, who had accused MI5 and to a lesser extent MI6 of colluding in his questioning under torture in Pakistan in 2006-07. Mr Justice Garnham concluded there was no fresh evidence to “transform the case” that would lead to a different conclusion to that of a succession of criminal trials that led to Ahmed being jailed for life for directing terrorist activities for al-Qaida from 2008. Ahmed’s legal team said he would appeal.