New treason laws, enforced registration for “foreign agents” and toughened powers under the Official Secrets Act are being considered by the government.

Measures announced in the Queen’s Speech were framed as a response to the Salisbury novichok attack, but advocates for the historical crime of treason have focused on British Isis fighters.

Boris Johnson told parliament that the proposals were “developed to tackle hostile activity conducted by foreign states”.

Civil liberties groups have raised concerns about the prospect of new treason laws, and questioned how “traitors” would be classified.

Liberty said the proposals were a “serious cause for concern. Creating new criminal offences is rarely justified and existing laws already define hostile state activity extremely broadly,” added advocacy director Clare Collier.

Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Show all 19 1 /19 Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – Salisbury train station The two suspects charged in relation to the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal at Salisbury train station at 16:11hrs on 03 March 2018 Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Suspects Suspects Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, Russian nationals, approximately 40 years old, who travelled on a Russian passport. It is likely that they were travelling under aliases and that these are not their real names Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Evidence Bottle and applicator recovered by police from Charlie Rowley’s address in Muggleton Road Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Evidence A counterfeit perfume box that was discovered by nerve agent victim Charlie Rowley, who later gave it, and the bottle inside, to his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess Metropolitan Police/AFP/Getty Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Rowley has previously said he felt lucky to be alive after giving a perfume bottle that contained the nerve agent Novichok to his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, who later died Metropolitan Police/AFP/Getty Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Suspeccts The CPS has issued European Arrest Warrants for the extradition of 'Boshirov' and 'Petrov' in connection with the Novichok poisoning attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March Metropolitan Police/PA Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – ‘Boshirov' at Gatwick airport Movements in detail - At 3pm on Friday, 2 March, the suspects arrived at Gatwick airport, having flown from Moscow on Aeroflot flight SU2588 Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – ‘Petrov’ at Gatwick airport From the airport it is believed that they travelled by train into London, arriving at Victoria station at approximately 5.40pm Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – Salisbury train station, 11:48hrs on 4 March 2018 They then travelled on London public transport to Waterloo station and were in the area between approximately 6pm and 7pm. They travelled to the City Stay Hotel in Bow Road, East London, where they stayed on Friday, 2 March, and Saturday, 3 March. On Saturday, 3 March, they left the hotel and took the underground to Waterloo station, arriving at approximately 11.45am, where they caught a train to Salisbury, arriving at approximately 2.25pm Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack City Stay Hotel in Bow Road Police officers stand outside the City Stay Hotel in Bow where on Sunday, 4 March, 'Boshirov' and 'Petrov' made the same journey from the hotel as they did the previous day, again using the underground from Bow to Waterloo station at approximately 8.05am, before continuing their journey by train to Salisbury Getty Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – Wilton Road, Salisbury, 11:58hrs on 4 March 2018 CCTV shows them in the vicinity of Mr Skripal’s house and we believe that they contaminated the front door with Novichok Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – Fisherton Road CCTV image of both suspects on Fisherton Road, Salisbury at 13:05hrs on 4 March, 2018 Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – Salisbury train station, 13:50hrs on 4 March 2018 They left Salisbury and returned to Waterloo Station, arriving at approximately 4.45pm and boarded the London Underground at approximately 6.30pm to London Heathrow Airport Metropolitan Police Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack CCTV – Heathrow airport security, 19:28hrs on 4 March 2018 From Heathrow Airport, they returned to Moscow on Aeroflot flight SU2585, departing at 10.30pm Metropolitan Police/PA Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Scene investigations The police investigation was carried out over 6 months. Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found on March 4 in a critical condition on a bench outside the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury AFP Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Victims Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, right, and his daughter Yulia Rex Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Victims Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who rushed to the aid of the Skripals was also taken to hospital in a serious condition after falling ill when attempting to help them PA Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Victims Dawn Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three, died after falling ill when partner Charlie Rowley gave her a perfume bottle that contained the nerve agent Novichok Facebook/AFP/Getty Police release images of suspects in connection with Salisbury attack Scene investigations The home of Charlie Rowley in Muggleton Road, Amesbury, where he and Dawn Sturgess were exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok PA

“Attempts to reform the Official Secrets Act are likely to increase secrecy and unjustifiably clamp down on freedom of speech.

“Any government is right to take threats to people’s safety seriously, but these proposals are likely to be a further attempt to increase state power while reducing accountability.”

A Downing Street document said the planned suite of espionage laws would “bring together new and modernised powers, giving our security services the legal authority they need”.

“The government is considering whether to follow allies in adopting a form of foreign agent registration, updating the Official Secrets Acts for the 21st century, as well as the case for updating treason laws,” it added.

Ministers are looking at “like-minded international partners’ legislation”, like the US Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Dating from the Second World War, it requires anyone acting in a “political or quasi-political capacity” – such as lobbyists and consultants – to disclose their relationship with any foreign government.

Russia has used its version of the same law to target critical journalists and human rights activists.

Australia also introduced a similar law to battle soft spying, such as influence operations and financial hacking.

Legislation designed to shut legal loopholes believed to allow hostile powers to operate in the UK was first unveiled by Theresa May but shelved due to Brexit.

The Queen’s Speech document said change was needed to make the UK “a harder environment for adversaries to operate in” and to “deal more effectively with the espionage threat.

The legislation will also “look to apply certain offences extraterritorially in order to protect our assets overseas”.

“This work is delivering on a commitment made by the former prime minister in the wake of the Salisbury attack,” the document said.

Separately, the prime minister has announced an intention to “re-set our foreign policy in 2020 through an integrated security, defence and foreign policy review that I will lead”.

Little detail has so far been provided, but Mr Johnson said: “This will be the most radical reassessment of our place in our world since the end of the Cold War, covering all aspects of international policy from defence to diplomacy and development.”

The last prime minister promised to get tough on Russia’s shadowy GRU-military intelligence service after the Salisbury novichok attack more than 18 months ago.