UK intelligence warns of dangers from Russia and Iran to internal security

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has warned of the growing complexity of security threats facing the UK from Russia and Iran, British media reported on Tuesday. In a speech from MI5’s counter-terrorism operations center in London, McCallum described the current landscape as the “most complex and interconnected” in the agency’s history.

The MI5 chief also highlighted the increase in threats coming from Iran, noting that since 2022 they have foiled 20 country-backed plots against citizens and residents in the United Kingdom, which presented “potentially lethal” risks.

He singled out Russia in particular, accusing its intelligence of promoting “sustained chaos” on the streets of the United Kingdom and Europe, with an increase in “arsons, sabotage and more dangerous actions” backed by Moscow. He also mentioned that more than 750 Russian diplomats, many suspected of being spies, have been expelled from Europe since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite this, Russia has increasingly turned to private, less professional and easier intelligence agents. to interrupt, according to McCallum.

Furthermore, the UK continues to face the persistent threat of terrorism. Since 2017, MI5 has dismantled 43 late-stage terrorist plots involving weapons, explosives and plans for mass murder. 75% of these cases are related to Islamic extremism from Iran, while the rest corresponds to far-right terrorism.

Two injured, one seriously, and one dead in London due to an incident Two injured, one seriously, and one dead in London due to an incident
McCallum also highlighted the growing attraction of young people to extremism, especially through the Internet, with a worrying increase in the number of minors under 18 years of age involved in terrorist crimes, tripling in the last three years.

Although many online extremists are “armchair plotters”, some transform their rhetoric into deadly action, posing a significant challenge to MI5.

Finally, McCallum highlighted that MI5 has seen a 48% increase in investigations into state-sponsored threats in the last year, highlighting the magnitude of the challenges facing the agency as it confronts both external threats and domestic terrorism.

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Source: AA

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