Vladimir Putin’s henchmen are planning to cause ‘mayhem’ in Britain and the rest of Europe, the chief of MI5 has warned.
In a rare speech outlining the current threat level, director general Ken McCallum also pointed the finger at Iran of being behind ‘plot after plot’ on British soil since the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
He said the nation faces a ‘staggering rise’ in attempts at assassination, sabotage and other crimes.
He revealed that both Russia and Iran recruit criminals to ‘do their dirty work’ and stressed there is a risk of broadening of state aggression in the UK.
But the terrorist trend – which concerns MI5 most – is the worsening threat from Al-Qaeda and in particular from Islamic State.
In the last year, McCallum said the number of inquiries into plots by hostile states had surged by 48%.
Russia
McCallum revealed that agents from Russia’s main intelligence (GRU) have carried out ‘arson, sabotage and more dangerous actions’ in Britain amid the support for Ukraine in the war, including the supply of weaponry.
Speaking at the counter-terrorism operations centre in west London on Tuesday, he said: ‘The UK’s leading role in supporting Ukraine means we loom large in the fevered imagination ofPutin’s regime and we should expect to see continued acts of aggression here at home.
‘The GRU in particular is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets.
‘We have seen arson, sabotage and more dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness and having precisely the opposite effect of what the Russian state intends in driving increased operational co-ordination with partners across Europe and beyond.’
In the last year, he said the number of state threat investigations – inquiries into plots by hostile states – had surged by 48%.
Iran
McCallum said 20 ‘potentially lethal’ plots backed by Iran have been tackled since 2022.
So far, the threats have been aimed at Iranians abroad who oppose the country’s authorities.
What is the national threat level?
The threat level in the UK has been classes as ‘substantial’ by the MI5.
This means an attack is ‘likely’ and the public should remain vigilant and report any concerns to the police.
Threat levels are designed to give an indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack.
There are five rankings ranging from low to critical, with the top meaning that an attack is expected imminently.
But he warned that if the Middle East crisis escalates with Israel launching a major attack in response to Iran’s recent missile barrage, there is a risk of such threats broadening.
‘Like the Russian services, Iranian state actors make extensive use of criminals as proxies – from international drug traffickers to low-level crooks,’ the MI5 head said.
‘Last December a man was jailed for reconnaissance he had carried out against the then-headquarters of the Iran International media organisation.’
Al-Qaeda and Islamic State
McCallum told the conference of the ‘worsening threat from al Qaida and from the Islamic State’, which he said had ‘resumed efforts to export terrorism’.
‘Today’s Islamic State is not the force it was a decade ago,’ he warned. ‘But after a few years of being pinned well back, they’ve resumed efforts to export terrorism.
‘The ISKP attack in Moscow was a brutal demonstration of its capabilities. We and many European partners are detecting IS-connected activity in our homelands, which we are moving early to disrupt.
‘And Al-Qaeda has sought to capitalise on conflict in the Middle East, calling for violent action.’
Over the last month more than a third of MI5’s top priority investigations have had some form of connection to organised overseas terrorist groups.
McCallum also warned that more terror cases will be coming through the courts.
‘Organised groups have the numbers and the know-how to carry out, or inspire, horrendous mass casualty attacks,’ he added.
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