British counterintelligence warns of threats to country from Russia, China, and Iran
Photo: MI5 Director General Ken McCallum (Getty Images)
The UK is facing a growing threat from Russia, Iran, and China. The risk of terrorism is "huge," states Ken McCallum, Director General of the UK’s domestic security service MI5, according to Reuters.
Ken McCallum stated that the number of people under investigation for activities posing a threat to the state has increased by 35%.
He added that hostile countries are constantly resorting to "ugly" methods typically used by terrorists.
According to McCallum, MI5 has disrupted "a stream of surveillance plots with hostile intent" from Russia and tracked more than 20 potentially lethal plots linked to Iran.
"In 2025, MI5 is contending with more volume and more variety of threats from terrorists and state actors, than I've ever seen," he said in his annual speech at MI5 headquarters in London.
The agency notes that the UK has repeatedly accused Russia, Iran, and China of hostile activities, although all three countries deny the allegations.
Earlier this year, six Bulgarians were imprisoned for spying on behalf of Russia, conducting surveillance, while five men were convicted of arson at businesses linked to Ukraine in London — a plot British officials said was commissioned by the Russian private military company Wagner.
"With our partners across Europe, MI5 will keep detecting those who take orders from Russian thugs. And we will keep following the trails back to those giving the orders, who imagine they're anonymous and unfindable behind their screens," emphasized the MI5 Director General.
He also noted that Beijing engages in cyber espionage, lures scientists to China, secretly interferes in British public life, and persecutes pro-Kremlin dissidents in the UK.
Regarding Iran, he said Tehran is "furiously" trying to silence its critics worldwide, citing Australia’s exposure of Iran’s involvement in antisemitic plots and the Dutch authorities’ uncovering of a failed assassination attempt.
He also said that the terrorist threat to the UK remains "huge," as MI5 and the police have disrupted 19 terror plots at late stages since 2020.
"Al Qaeda and Islamic State are once again becoming more ambitious, taking advantage of instability overseas to gain firmer footholds," he added.
Spies in the UK
Earlier, the United Kingdom’s domestic security service MI5 warned politicians and staff that they were being targeted by spies from China, Russia, and Iran.
The UK also released evidence of large-scale Chinese espionage operations that threatened the country’s national security and economy.
Previously, Russian spies had been repeatedly arrested in the UK, including among diplomats. It was also reported that at the end of last year, several Russian diplomats managed to access a restricted area of the British Parliament during a tour.
It was also previously revealed that the British intelligence service MI6 is launching its own specialized portal, Silent Courier, on the dark web to recruit spies from Russia.
