A UK government bill, under which older children can be authorised to become spies for government agencies and break the law, will be challenged in the House of Lords next week. The government’s Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) bill aims to confirm a set of safeguards and create a statutory basis for the long-used serious crime-fighting tactic of allowing undercover agents to engage in criminality to secure the trust of those they are investigating. Its guidance (pdf) allows authorization of lawbreaking by children as they covertly gather intelligence, including in the interests of national security or safety, to protect public health, to help collect taxes, and to detect crime. Amendments to Bill Several British peers tabled a motion (pdf) on Wednesday seeking to make amendments to the CHIS bill so that it only allows such young people to be used in this way in exceptional circumstances and if it’s clear …