Russia and Iran are stepping up threats to the UK, spy chief warns

Threats to Britain from Russia and Iran and the danger posed by the Islamic State group have increased in recent months, according to the head of Britain’s domestic spy agency.

Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, said the security service was facing “stretched” resources as it dealt with the domestic fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine, conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, and terror Islamist. groups seeking to capitalize on the unrest.

“The decisions that MI5 have to make about the allocation of our limited capacity are more difficult than I can remember in my career,” McCallum said in a rare public address at Britain’s Counter-Terrorism Operations Center on Tuesday. He cited Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, in particular as being involved in a “sustained mission to wreak havoc on British and European streets”.

The number of MI5 investigations focused on foreign state threats in the UK has increased by 48% in the past year, he said, adding that Iran was copying Russia’s tactics of paying UK criminals to commit acts of aggression and intimidation. That activity has intensified over the past year, and the Kremlin is finding ways to “adapt” its methods, McCallum said in response to a question from Bloomberg, adding that he would provide details at a later date.

Since January 2022, MI5 has responded to 20 potentially lethal plots on British soil that were supported by the Iranian state, he said, noting that British spies saw “similarities” between Russian and Iranian hybrid warfare efforts.

“If you take money from Iran, Russia or any other state to commit illegal acts in the UK, you will bring the full weight of the national security apparatus down on you,” he warned. “It’s a choice you’ll regret.”

McCallum also said Britain saw a “worsening threat” from al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Although not the force they once were, Islamic State in particular “has resumed its efforts to export terrorism,” he said.

In the past month, more than a third of MI5’s highest priority investigations were linked to overseas terrorist groups, he said. McCallum also said that around one in eight people investigated for terrorist activity in the UK were under 18, a statistic he described as “staggering”.

The UK’s overall terror threat level remains at ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is considered likely.

The MI5 chief spoke of the risk posed by China to Britain, characterizing it as “different” to Russia and Iran and something that needed to be managed alongside economic ties with Beijing.

Businesses and academia should seek guidance from the government on how to ensure they are resistant to attempts by Chinese state-backed groups to obtain “valuable information,” he said. Britain and its allies “should expect further testing and, in some places, the defeat” of their cyber defences, he added.

Commenting on the tension between companies that provide end-to-end encryption and the needs of law enforcement to access criminals’ messages, McCallum urged both sides to avoid “absolutist positions.”

The counter-terrorism agencies of the so-called Five Eyes Intelligence partners – Britain, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – work together at the London operations center, he said, describing it as something that “would have been unimaginable. generation ago.”

Photo: Visitors at a viewing point overlooking London’s Canary Wharf district. Photo credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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