Since 2017, British spies have disrupted 43 late-stage terror plots that could have killed thousands of people, according to the head of MI5.
In a rare public appearance, Ken McCallum told a press conference of an alarming rise in threats to the United Kingdom from both Iran and Russia, the latter of which is “on a sustained mission to generate mayhem in British streets.”
In his annual address on the threats facing the UK, McCallum made the following points:
- Iran and Russia are actively engaged in plots involving assassination, arson, and sabotage in the UK, using criminal networks to carry out attacks.
- Under-18s now make up 13% of MI5’s cases, largely influenced by online extremism.
- Groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda have resurged, leading to a notable portion of MI5’s priority cases linked to overseas Islamist groups.
- MI5 has seen a 48% rise in state-backed threats from countries like Iran, Russia, and China, adding pressure in parallel to traditional terrorism threats.
- There is a significant risk of terrorism linked to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, although any direct spike in violence has yet to occur.
The MI5 director general said that since the start of 2022, security services have helped disrupt 20 Iran-backed plots that presented lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents, many of whom are dissidents and journalists critical of the Tehran regime.
Russia’s war with Ukraine means Putin’s henchmen are “seeking to strike elsewhere in the misguided hope of weakening Western resolve.”
Following the expulsion of more than 750 Russian diplomats from Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin operatives have instead turned to criminal networks:
The GRU [Russia’s military intelligence agency] in particular is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets …We’ve seen arson, sabotage and more. Dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.
As an example, seven people have been charged over a Russia-linked arson attack on a Ukrainian business in East London in March this year.
McCallum issued a stark warning to anyone thinking of working for Britain’s enemies:
If you take money from Iran, Russia, or any other state to carry out illegal acts in the UK, you will bring the full weight of the national security apparatus down on you. It’s a choice you’ll regret.
Islamist terrorism is also a growing threat, including a resurgent Islamic State, while al-Qaeda has sought to capitalise on the conflict in the Middle East by calling for “violent action.”
“Today’s Islamic State is not the force it was a decade ago. But after a few years of being pinned well back, they’ve resumed efforts to export terrorism. The ISKP [Islamic State Khorasan Province] attack in Moscow was a brutal demonstration of its capability.”
He said security services were “powerfully alive” to the risk that events in the Middle East could lead to a terror attack in the UK.
Speaking a day after the first anniversary of the terror organisation Hamas’ attack on Israel, the MI5 chief said, “The ripples from conflict in that region will not necessarily arrive at our shores in a straightforward fashion”.
“They will be filtered through the lens of online media and mixed with existing views and grievances in unpredictable ways,” he added.
McCallum cited several examples. “Late last year, a man in Coventry was jailed for life for designing a 3D-printed armed drone for IS in West Africa,” he said. “Just a few weeks earlier, two brothers from Birmingham were jailed for an attempt to join ISKP in Afghanistan.
“These cases are not wild outliers. More will be coming through the courts. Organised groups have the numbers and the know-how to carry out, or inspire, horrendous mass casualty attacks.”
Roughly 75% of the terror threats MI5 deals with are Islamist-related, McCallum said, while the remaining are what he termed “far-right.”
