Sir Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, said the security service routinely uncovered plots to carry out surveillance, sabotage, arson or acts of physical violence in the UK
MI5 is grappling with a “new era” as Russia, China and Iran fuel a dramatic rise in threats posed by foreign states.
Sir Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, said the security service was routinely uncovering plots from hostile actors to carry out surveillance, sabotage, arson or acts of physical violence in the UK.
Meanwhile, terror investigations have hit near record levels, with a concerning number of children arrested last year.
It came as the top spy chief laid bare the threats to Britain’s national security in a rare public update. In a speech to journalists, he set out the work of the intelligence service to combat the dangers facing this country. Here’s what you need to know.
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1. 19 late-stage attack plots disrupted as terror probes surge
The top spy chief revealed that MI5 and the police have disrupted 19 late-stage attack plots and intervened in hundreds of developing threats since 2020.
Sir Ken said the security service was operating in a “new era”, grappling with near-record volumes of terror investigations. He warned that “a more hostile world is forcing the biggest shifts in MI5’s mission since 9/11”.
The breadth of terror threats has grown, ranging from Islamist groups to extreme right wing ideologies. He also said Al Qaeda and Islamic State are once again becoming more ambitious and seeking to capitalise on instability abroad.
2. Investigations into state actors up by 35%
Sir Ken said that Russia, Iran and China have fuelled a spike in the state-based threats posed to Britain, which has seen a 35% increase in the number of individuals investigated in the last year.
State actors increasingly using terror-style tactics, with MI5 uncovering plots from foreign states to carry out surveillance, sabotage, arson or acts of physical violence in the UK.
3. Increasing numbers of kids arrested for terror
Children made up a fifth of terror suspects arrested last year, according to the MI5 boss. Sir Ken pointed to concerning numbers of kids involved in national security probes, as one in five of the 232 terror arrests last year were children under 17.
He said spooks were concerned over how terrorism “breeds in squalid corners of the internet” but it was difficult to assess people’s motives online.
He unveiled plans to tackle the problem of youngsters drawn to extremist violence with a new Interventions Centre of Expertise. It will manage threats in cases involving adolescents, mental ill health or other complex risks.
4. Fears over rogue AI
Spooks are working to counter the potential threat of rogue AI, Sir Ken said. He said the technology was used to great benefit, as it can help to sift through thousands of messages for details of plots or hone in on the image with the picture of a gun.
But it can be exploited by state actors, and it would be “reckless” to ignore the threat, he said. Sir Ken said: “I am not forecasting Hollywood movie scenarios. I am, on the whole, a tech optimist who sees AI bringing real benefits.
“But, as AI capabilities continue to power ahead, you would expect organisations like MI5 and GCHQ and the UK’s ground-breaking AI Security Institute, to be thinking deeply, today, about what defending the realm might need to look like in the years ahead.
“Artificial intelligence may never ‘mean’ to cause us harm. But it would be reckless to ignore the potential for it to cause harm.”
5. China poses threats daily
Sir Ken said Chinese spies posed a “daily” threat to Britain’s national security and admitted he was frustrated by the collapse of a major espionage trial.
He said that the UK needed to “defend itself resolutely” against China but it also needed to “seize the opportunities” from a relationship with Beijing.
The MI5 boss admitted he was frustrated by the collapse of the case against two men accused of spying for China, which has sparked a major political row.
6. Russia forced into using proxies as spies expelled
Russia is “committed to causing havoc and destruction” around the world, ranging for cyber attacks to sabotage. But Vladimir Putin is being forced to rely on proxies after Russian spies were expelled from embassies across Europe.
The people, often recruited online, risk being “ghosted” by Moscow if they are exposed, he said. He warned people considering helping Russia: “You’re disposable. You may well be ‘ghosted’ on payday. When you’re caught you’ll be abandoned. You won’t feature in a prisoner exchange. You’re on your own.”
7. Spooks track lethal Iran-backed plots
Iran was “frantically trying to silence its opponents around the world”, he said, with MI5 tracking “more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” in the last year.
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