It is usually the Home Secretary who issues interception and property warrants for the Security Service. All intended operations of this sort are subject to extensive scrutiny both within the Service and outside, for example at the Home Office. Final authorisation is a matter for the Secretary of State and is only given on the basis of a formal submission which contains a detailed account of why the warrant is required. The submission also sets out the nature of the threat, the intelligence background, and confirms that the scope of the operation falls within the statutory functions of the Service. Applications for warrants must be approved by senior managers within the Service, and are then scrutinised by senior officials before submission to the Secretary of State.
Arrangements are in place for the most urgent cases to be processed quickly.