UK MI5 Chief Says Russian Military Intelligence Is Trying To Create "Disruption" In Britain And Europe

MI5 Director Ken McCallum. (Source: mi5.gov.uk)

JAKARTA - The head of the UK's internal intelligence agency said on Tuesday the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) was trying to cause "chaotic" throughout Britain and Europe, while the growing threat from al Qaeda and ISIS that rose back was its biggest concern related to terrorism.

In a speech outlining the current description of the threat, Director General of the Security Service (MI5) Ken McCallum also accused Iran of being behind "plan after plan" in Britain.

McCallum said investigations of the country's threats increased 48 percent last year as Russia and Iran turned to criminals, drug dealers, and proxies to do their "strengthen work".

"It's clear to you that MI5 has a very tough job," he said.

He further explained that MI5 and British police had thwarted 43 late-stage plans since March 2017, some of whom were in the final days of planning mass killings.

The terrorist trend, which according to the spy chief, worries him the most, is an increasingly worsening threat from al Qaeda that seeks to capitalize on the conflict in the Middle East, and particularly ISIS, which has continued efforts to export terrorism, such as last March's attack on the Moscow concert building.

"Events in the Middle East have not turned into large-scale militant violence in the country," he said.

"We are well aware of the risk that events in the Middle East directly trigger terrorist acts in Britain," he said, citing an incident in which a Moroccan man stabbed to death a pedestrian in northern England in what he called revenge for Israel's actions in Gaza.

"Of the people being investigated for being involved in terrorism, 13 percent are under 18 years of age, a threefold increase in the last three years," he said.

McCallum's many speeches discussed the threats posed by Russia and Iran.

With the expulsion of more than 750 Russian diplomats from Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine and the expulsion of the last Russian military intelligence officer from Britain this year, he said it was "attracting" how Russian state actors turned to proxy to do their job.

"GRU is in particular on a ongoing mission to create chaos on UK and European roads: we have seen fires, sabotages and more," he said, but declined to provide further details.

In response, the Russian Embassy in London said it firmly rejected "baseless accusations", saying McCallum used frightening tactics to maintain public support for Britain's support for Ukraine.

Since January 2022, McCallum said his services and the police have responded to 20 Iranian-backed plans, potentially posing a deadly threat to British citizens and residents.

"We have seen plans after plans here in the UK, with unprecedented speed and scale," he said.

Meanwhile, there was no immediate response from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Last December, an Austrian man was found guilty of "hostile stalks" of a central-based Iranian International television station in London, critical of the Iranian government.

Since then, Britain has imposed sanctions on Iranian officials accused of involvement in the alleged murder of two Iranian International presenters, while in March an anti-terrorism investigation was launched over the stabbing of an Iranian journalist headquartered in the UK, Pouria Zeraati.

McCallum warned that anyone who might receive money from Russia or Iran to commit illegal acts would be "the choice you would regret".