MI5 Chief Expresses Frustration Over dropped China Spy Case,Highlights Broadening Threats
Ken McCallum,the Director General of MI5,publicly voiced his frustration regarding the decision not to prosecute two men initially charged with espionage for China. Speaking on Thursday, McCallum affirmed that Chinese state actors “present a UK national security threat…every day,” but acknowledged that the “overall balance of UK bilateral foreign policy relationships” is a legitimate governmental concern. He stressed he wouldn’t “presume to appoint myself a temporary expert in the running of prosecutions.”
The comments came as Downing Street released the witness statements of government lawyer Collins, submitted to prosecutors. These statements revealed the crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case despite Collins informing them that China’s intelligence agencies “harm the interests and security of the UK.” McCallum described Collins as ”a man of high integrity and a professional of considerable quality,” someone he’s known professionally for years.
Ministers have stated that Collins drafted the witness statements independently of political direction, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly only saw the contents on Wednesday morning.
Beyond the China case, McCallum detailed a substantially escalating threat landscape, describing a “more hostile world” necessitating “the biggest shifts in MI5’s mission since 9/11.” Since the start of 2020, the agency has disrupted 19 late-stage terror attack plots, averaging approximately four per year. He warned of attempts by al-Qaida and Islamic State to regain strength, and offered “deepest sympathies” to victims of the recent Manchester synagogue attack, where the perpetrator pledged allegiance to IS during a 999 call.
While established terror groups are “becoming more aspiring,” McCallum stated the primary terror threat originates from “individuals or small groups,” frequently enough radicalized online. He characterized terrorism as flourishing “in squalid corners of the internet where poisonous ideologies…meet volatile frequently enough chaotic lives.”
MI5 is also actively countering threats from Iran and Russia. The agency has tracked “more than 20 potentially lethal Iran backed plots” in the past year and disrupted “a steady stream of surveillance plots with hostile intent” originating from Russia, which frequently utilizes untrained online recruits.
Moreover, McCallum highlighted a concerning trend of youth involvement in national security investigations, noting that one in five of the 232 terrorism arrests last year involved children under 17. To address this,MI5 has established an Interventions center of Expertise,staffed with both national security professionals and wider public sector experts,to manage threats involving adolescents.
