Russia is ‘on a mission to wreak havoc’ on Britain’s streets, MI5 chief warns

Russia’s intelligence agency has been on a mission to create “continuous chaos on the streets of Britain and Europe”, the head of MI5 has said.

Giving his annual update on the security threats facing the UK, Ken McCallum said the GRU had carried out “sabotage, sabotage and the most dangerous acts carried out with increasing recklessness” in Britain after the UK supported Ukraine in its war with Russia.

MI5 has also responded to 20 Iran-backed programs since 2022, he said, although he added that most of its work still involved mainly Islamist terrorism followed by right-wing terrorism.

The mix of terrorism-related threats and threats from states meant MI5 had “one job on its hands”, he warned.

In broad termshe said:

• Young people have been drawn to online extremism, with 13% of those investigated for involvement in terrorism under the age of 18.
• A total of 43 recent plots involving guns and explosives to commit “mass murder” in the UK have been foiled since 2017.
• Number of MI5 government threat investigations increased by 48%
• Counter-terrorism work remains divided between “75% Islamist extremism, 25% far-right terrorism”

“There are a lot of confusing beliefs and ideas” MI5 had to deal with, he told a briefing at MI5’s counter-terrorism center in London.

“The first 20 years I worked here were full of terrorist threats.

“Now we are dealing with those associated with state-sponsored killings and mass destruction, after the great world war in Europe,” he said.

The UK’s “leading role” in supporting Ukraine means that “we look strong in the mind of Putin’s regime” and further acts of violence on UK soil should be expected, he warned.

The UK’s The current level of the terrorist threat is high – which means that an attack is possible.

More than 750 Russian diplomats have been expelled from Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine, “most of them” as spies, Mr McCallum said.

This affected the power of the Russian intelligence service, he explained, adding that official visas were denied to those Britain and its allies were looking for Russian spies.

Russian state actors turned to proxies, such as private intelligence agents and criminals, to do their “dirty work”, but this affected the professionalism of their work and made it easier to interfere.

While Mr McCallum has spoken publicly about both the Russian and Iranian threats, he has never blamed Moscow for these dire situations.

In a previous public speech he spoke of 10 conspiracies against Iranians in the UK. That number has now doubled, meaning that Iranian national activity is not hampered by the threat of capture.

He said that since the 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini – a 22-year-old who died in police custody in Iran after being arrested for allegedly breaking the rules on women wearing the headscarf – “we have seen plot after plot here in the UK, at an unprecedented speed and scale.”

He added that, as the war in the Middle East continued, MI5 would pay “more attention to the risk of escalation – or escalation – of Iranian aggression in the UK”.

In both cases, Russia and Iran, the head of MI5 emphasized that because it was difficult – almost impossible – for their authorized agents to carry out these acts, they turned more to underground criminal groups.

Speaking about China, he said that economic relations with the UK have helped strengthen security.

However, he later told reporters that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a plan to steal information and information, and “we have seen 20,000 methods that are not understood by China”.

The number of young people being drawn into online extremism is increasing, Mr McCallum warned.

About 13% of those investigated for involvement in terrorism were under the age of 18 – a three-fold increase over the past three years.

The security agency sees “too many cases where very young people are drawn to the Internet with poison”.

“Extreme right-wing extremism mainly misrepresents young people, driven by propaganda that shows a vague understanding of internet culture,” he said.

Answering questions from reporters, he emphasized concerns about the role of the Internet, which is “a big factor” driving the trend, and explained how easily teenagers can find material in their bedrooms.

A large part of the threat is made by “lone individuals who are educated on the Internet” he said.

“In the dark corners of the internet, talk is cheap. Sorting out the real conspirators from the seat fanatics is a difficult task,” he said.

“Anonymous interactions on the Internet are often harmless, but a few lead to deadly, real-world actions.”

Home Office figures published last month show that of the 242 people arrested for terrorism offenses in the year to June, 17% (40) are aged 17 and under.

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the “reasonable results” Mr McCallum said but said the public should be “reassured that our security services are world class and will do whatever it takes to keep us safe”.