The agencies have previously been accused of withholding relevant information from the committee, claims they have always strongly denied.

The new measures are part of a revamp of the ISC, which is made up of MPs and peers and tasked with monitoring the work of the spy agencies.

Sir Malcolm said they represented the “most radical extension of powers” that the committee has ever had.

Up to now evidence sessions have been held in secret and any reports released by the committee are heavily redacted if they are put in to the public domain.

However, under the shake-up, Jonathan Evans, the Director General of MI5, Sir John Sawers, the Chief of MI6, and Iain Lobban, Director of GCHQ, will now give evidence in public.

The first of those hearings is planned for early next year, Sir Malcolm revealed, and it will be a unique experience for the agency heads who rarely even make speeches and usually to private audiences.

The extra spotlight will be backed up with stronger powers to examine the activities of the services.

The ISC has previously investigated specific operations, such as those surrounding the 7/7 terror attacks, but they have always come from a request by the Prime Minister or because of some controversy that has been made public.

In future, the committee can pick and choose any operation it wishes to look closely at, so long as it can justify it is a matter of national importance.

Currently, the ISC can also request information from the three organisations whereas in the future it will be able to “require” documents and data.

Sir Malcolm said: “This is the most radical extension of powers of the ISC that we have had ever in this country.”

“I have been conscious for years that although the ISC was doing important work there was a perception, in some ways a very understandable perception, that it wasn’t very powerful.

“It was timely to have a root and branch reform and to transform the committee.”

He said although the agencies have very rarely refused to hand over information the current wording implied “requests” could be declined.

In future only the Prime Minister or relevant Secretaries of State will be able to refuse but even then they will have a very high threshold that must be passed to withhold information.

Sir Malcolm added: “That is a huge change. It means parliament and the public can have confidence that stuff is not being held back.”

In 2006, MI5 was accused of failing to disclose some information to the ISC inquiry in to the 7/7 bombings.

And in 2010, a judge accused the agency of misleading the committee during its inquiry in to the treatment of former Guantánamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed.

On both occasions the agency denied deliberately withholding any information.