Ethics Statement

Legal Framework, Oversight and Accountability:

The Heilbronn Institute is a partnership between the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the UK academic mathematics community. Heilbronn members engage with ground-breaking research and collaborate with experts in support of GCHQ’s mission to help keep the country safe. While this activity must remain secret, it is conducted under one of the strictest legal and oversight regimes in the world.

For further details please see links below:

Accountability: GCHQ is an executive agency. As such, we are accountable to the government of the day who set our priorities.

Legal framework: GCHQ is governed by world-leading legislation that balances the fundamental freedoms of our citizens with their right to be safe, secure and prosperous in the modern world.

Oversight: Parliament and the Judiciary provide rigorous oversight of GCHQ and its operations in order to demonstrate that we act within the law.