The United Kingdom is experiencing a “staggering rise” in assassination attempts attributed to Russian and Iranian operatives, as hostile states increasingly enlist criminals to execute their agendas, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has revealed.
In a rare public address, McCallum said on Tuesday that MI5 and law enforcement officials have thwarted 20 Iran-backed plots since 2022.
He cautioned that Iran may expand its targeting in the U.K. if Israel retaliates significantly against Iranian missile strikes.
“The widening conflicts in the Middle East raise the risk of increased Iranian state aggression in the U.K.,” McCallum said, highlighting that tensions related to Iran-backed groups—such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—could also trigger domestic terror attacks.
Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, delivers a speech at the Counter Terrorism Operations Centre in London on October. 8, 2024. He said that Britain is facing a “staggering rise” in assassination attempts on U.K. soil.
Yui Mok/PA via AP
While the current crisis has not yet led to widespread terrorist violence in Britain, McCallum emphasized that the confluence of hostile states, individual attackers, and a resurgent Islamic State group has created “the most complex and interconnected threat environment we’ve ever seen.”
MI5 has seen a 48 percent rise in state-threat investigations over the past year, with Iran, Russia, and China identified as primary threats.
The agency’s focus intensified following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iranian custody in September 2022, which spurred a surge in plots within the U.K. at an “unprecedented pace.”
Russia’s military intelligence agency is reportedly using tactics such as arson and sabotage to incite chaos across Britain and Europe, McCallum said.
Both Russia and Iran have a history of leveraging criminals—from drug traffickers to petty offenders—to carry out their operations.
General view of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI5 building in London on April 20, 2015. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said his agents and police have tackled 20 Tehran-backed plots since 2022.
Nick Ansell/PA via AP
Recent investigations have resulted in criminal charges linked to state-backed plots. Notably, a Chechen man was sentenced for conducting surveillance on the offices of a dissident Iranian broadcaster in London, while others face trial for a Russia-connected scheme to target Ukrainian-owned businesses.
In addressing the challenges posed by an assertive China, McCallum acknowledged the importance of the U.K.-China economic relationship, while also cautioning about associated risks.
The official terror threat level in the U.K. stands at ‘substantial,’ indicating that an attack is likely.
McCallum emphasized that since 2017, MI5 and the police have disrupted 43 late-stage terror plots.
Approximately three-quarters of these threats originate from Islamic extremist ideology, with the remainder linked to extreme right movements.
He pointed out the increasing involvement of youth, noting that 13 percent of those under MI5 investigation are under 18.
McCallum also warned of signs indicating that the Islamic State group is attempting to reestablish itself, despite the collapse of its territorial claims in Iraq and Syria.
He cited a recent attack in Moscow that killed over 140 people as evidence of the group’s enduring capabilities.
“The first 20 years of my career were full of terrorist threats,” McCallum said. “Now we face those alongside state-backed assassination and sabotage plots, against the backdrop of a major European land war.”
He concluded by asserting that MI5 faces “one hell of a job on its hands.”
This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press.
