Richard Hanstock
Richard is a public law barrister who enjoys applying the law to build and maintain sustainable communities. He advises and represents a wide range of public authorities, including local councils, government departments and police forces, as well as private individuals, companies and interest groups.
Having volunteered as a police officer for 13 years, Richard is well-equipped to provide highly practical and realistic advice alongside robust and persuasive advocacy inside and outside court. He has extensive experience of managing anti-social behaviour, disorder within licensed premises and persistent breaches of planning control, supporting clients to navigate challenging legal landscapes to achieve a just outcome for communities, businesses and individuals.
Richard is a deep specialist in the regulation of investigatory powers, including confiscation proceedings and police law. He is an expert in computer misuse and cyber security, building on his academic research on denial of service attacks at the University of Cambridge.
Richard serves as a reservist in the Royal Air Force, where he is working towards a commission in the RAF Legal Branch. He aspires to complement his public law practice by delivering operational legal advice to military commanders, contributing to the development of international legal doctrine on the role of cyber capabilities in hybrid warfare.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2012
Qualifications
- MPhil (2012)
- LLB (2011)
Education
- University of Cambridge (2012)
- London School of Economics and Political Science (2011)
9 Contributions by Richard Hanstock
PRACTICE NOTES
Communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016: acquisition, authorisations, internet connection records, retention notices, safeguards, duties and offences
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016)
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016) sets the statutory framework for how public bodies may obtain and use communications data, replacing much—though not all—of the earlier regime previously found in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). For a primer on the IPA 2016, see Practice Note: The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide.
Rules on acquiring and disclosing communications data are contained in IPA 2016, Parts 2 and 3.
IPA 2016 repealed the RIPA 2000 provisions on interception and the acquisition of communications data.
IPA 2016 is supported by the Code of Practice on the Interception of Communications Data and the Communications Data Code of Practice. These Codes are essential reading for relevant public authorities involved in acquiring communications data under IPA 2016, and for telecommunications operators and postal operators responsible for retaining communications data and/or disclosing it to public authorities under the Act. For information on retaining communications data under IPA 2016, see Practice Note: Communications data retention [Archived]...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Covert surveillance and CHIS under RIPA 2000 Part II: UK authorisations, eligible public authorities, and procedures
While the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016) repealed and superseded most of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000), it leaves untouched the framework for the use of covert intelligence sources, which continue to be controlled by RIPA 2000. The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Code of Practice sets out guidance on authorising the use or conduct of CHIS by public authorities under RIPA 2000, s 29, and on Criminal Conduct Authorisations under RIPA 2000, s 29B, together with direction on managing any information obtained under a CHIS authorisation. It should be read alongside the statute when assessing any request for surveillance. All RIPA 2000-related codes of practice are admissible in both criminal and civil proceedings and, where a provision appears relevant to proceedings under RIPA 2000, it must be considered. Public authorities may need to defend authorisations by reference to the codes of practice. Before approving applications for directed or intrusive surveillance, the authorising officer should also weigh the risk of acquiring private information about individuals who are not targets of the surveillance. The CHIS Codes of Practice refer to this kind of issue within the guidance without altering the legislative framework or requirements in place...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Investigatory Powers Tribunal (UK): jurisdiction, complaints, human rights claims, procedure, decisions, remedies and appeals under IPA 2016 and RIPA 2000
For information on the overarching regime overseeing the use of powers under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016), see Practice Note: Scrutiny of intelligence gathering and the role of commissioners under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.
What does the investigate?
The IPT has jurisdiction to examine and resolve complaints relating to the conduct and deployment of covert surveillance by public authorities, including UK intelligence agencies.
Section 65(5) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000), as amended by IPA 2016, provides a detailed catalogue of what amounts to ‘conduct’ for the IPT’s purposes.
In essence, ‘conduct’ covers a public authority exercising covert surveillance powers under IPA 2016 or RIPA 2000, and any activity undertaken by or on behalf of the intelligence services.
By way of illustration, the IPT considers complaints about conduct by or for the police, the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It is the only tribunal to which complaints about the intelligence services can be directed.
For the complete list of matters the IPT may hear, see RIPA 2000, s 65(5). Some of the complaints that the IPT may hear are described in RIPA 2000, section 65(5) and IPA 2016 above only...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
IPA 2016 interception of communications: offences, targeted/bulk warrants, LPP and journalistic safeguards, urgency/modification, implementation, and admissibility in proceedings (UK)
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016)
The IPA 2016 establishes the statutory framework regulating covert surveillance by public authorities, superseding what had previously been largely—though not entirely—set out in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). In May 2021, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in Big Brother Watch v UK, addressing the historic reliance on RIPA 2000 to authorise bulk interception operations. The Grand Chamber accepted that bulk interception and international data sharing can be necessary in a democratic society, while urging a range of safeguards—such as independent authorisation and protections for confidential material—which are now, for the most part, reflected in the IPA. See News Analysis: Another blow for UK’s intelligence gathering regime (Big Brother Watch and others v the United Kingdom). Where those safeguards required legislative amendment—namely, additional protections for the selection and examination of confidential journalistic material or journalistic sources obtained under a bulk interception warrant—they were implemented by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (Remedial) Order 2024, SI 2024/514. Comparable protections were subsequently introduced for such material derived from bulk equipment interference warrants by section 27 of the Investigatory Powers...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Local authority covert surveillance, CHIS and communications data: powers, authorisation, oversight and CCTV governance under IPA 2016, RIPA 2000 and PFA 2012 (England and Wales)
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016) reshaped the statutory regime governing covert surveillance by public bodies, a regime that was largely, though not entirely, contained in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). Local authorities hold powers under both IPA 2016 and RIPA 2000. In addition, the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 allows certain public authorities to authorise criminal conduct by covert human intelligence sources. For more detail, see News Analysis: Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021.
Surveillance powers available to authorities
The acquisition and disclosure of communications data (such as telephone billing information or subscriber details)
Directed surveillance (covert surveillance of individuals in public places)
Covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) (for example, the deployment of undercover officers)
Local authorities employ covert methods to support their statutory functions when enforcing the law in relation to environmental crime; consumer scams; loan sharks; taxi cab regulation; underage sales of knives, alcohol, solvents and tobacco; and the employment of minors...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
RIPA 2000 (UK) after the Investigatory Powers Act 2016: CHIS, covert surveillance and encryption key disclosure powers
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016) now provides the core legal structure for the use of covert surveillance by public bodies. Before this, the field was governed mostly—though not wholly—by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). The RIPA 2000 provisions on intercepting and acquiring communications data have been repealed and replaced by IPA 2016. However, the regimes for direct surveillance, covert human intelligence sources (CHIS), and obtaining electronic data protected by encryption continue to be governed by RIPA 2000. For guidance on interception and the acquisition of communications under IPA 2016, see the following Practice Notes:
The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide
Acquisition, retention and disclosure of communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
Interception of communications under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
Equipment interference under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
Scrutiny of intelligence gathering and the role of commissioners under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
Covert human intelligence sources
The RIPA 2000 provisions concerning the authorisation and use of CHIS survive the implementation of IPA 2016 and therefore remain the applicable legal framework for this form of surveillance...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
RIPA 2000 Part III (as amended): UK powers to compel decryption or key disclosure—authorisation, procedure, proportionality, secrecy, offences and enforcement
While the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016) largely superseded the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000), the Part III provisions of RIPA 2000—dealing with the ability of public bodies to issue notices requiring the decryption of encrypted information or the provision of decryption keys—remain in effect, albeit as modified by the IPA 2016. For further details on the IPA 2016, see Practice Note: The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide...
Investigation of encrypted electronic data
RIPA 2000, Pt III governs investigations by a public authority into electronic data protected by encryption. The statutory scheme is supplemented by a Code of Practice, which is admissible in evidence in both criminal and civil proceedings. A wide range of methods enable businesses, individuals and criminals to secure and protect their electronic data and to maintain the privacy of their electronic communications. Such protection can be implemented in various ways; at its simplest, a password may unlock the data and render it accessible in an intelligible form...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
UK intelligence-gathering and investigatory powers: statutory framework, warrants and authorisations, bulk powers, private sector duties, interception, communications data, equipment interference, CHIS, encryption keys, oversight and challenges
A range of statutory obligations regulate the acquisition, retention, examination and dissemination of private material by public authorities for intelligence purposes.
These frameworks comprise:
Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016)
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000)
Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998)
Intelligence Services Act 1994 (ISA 1994)
Security Service Act 1989 (SSA 1989)
Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA 1990)
Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (WTA 2006)
Investigatory Powers (Interception by Businesses etc for Monitoring and Record-keeping Purposes) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/356
The IPA 2016 is further supported by statutory codes of practice:
Interception of communications: code of practice
Equipment interference: code of practice
Communications data: code of practice
Bulk acquisition of communications data: code of practice
Bulk personal datasets—low or no reasonable expectation of privacy: code of practice
Notices regime: code of practice
Retention and use of bulk personal datasets: code of practice
Third party bulk personal datasets: code of practice
Certain public authorities are identified as ‘intercepting authorities’ empowered to apply for targeted interception warrants under IPA 2016, Pt 2, namely:
Intelligence agencies (GCHQ, MI5 and SIS)
Certain law enforcement agencies...
Corporate Crime
CHECKLISTS
Local authority CHIS, directed surveillance and communications data authorisations: RIPA 2000 and Investigatory Powers Act 2016 checklist and magistrates’ approval (England and Wales)
This Checklist sets out the obligations for local authorities seeking approval to deploy surveillance powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000) and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016). It should be read alongside Practice Notes: Regulation of investigatory powers under RIPA 2000 and The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide.
RIPA 2000 requirements
Under RIPA 2000, the requirements include:
advance authorisation for directed surveillance
a prohibition on the authority conducting intrusive surveillance
authorising the conduct and use of a covert human intelligence source (CHIS)
safeguards governing the conduct and use of a CHIS
authorisation to acquire communications data
obtaining judicial approval for those authorisations
Authorisation and judicial approval for the acquisition of communications data are now governed by IPA 2016. See Practice Notes: Surveillance powers of local authorities, The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide and Acquisition, retention and disclosure of communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016...
Corporate Crime
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