The head of MI5 has warned Vladimir Putin’s “henchmen” are looking to “weaken Western resolve” by generating “mayhem on British streets”.
In his annual speech on the threats facing the country, Ken McCallum said it was clear the intelligence services has “one hell of a job on its hands” protecting the UK from other states – particularly with the Ukraine war in the background.
And the top official said that autocratic regimes like Putin’s are extending their aggression overseas.
He said: “While the Russian military grinds away on the battlefield, at horrendous human cost, Putin’s henchmen seeking to strike elsewhere in the misguided hope of weakening Western resolve.”
He also claimed that the West’s decision to expel more than 750 Russian diplomats from Europe since Putin’s invasion began, many of whom he claimed were spies, went “well beyond all historical precedent.”
The intelligence chief said this has put a “big dent” in the country’s abilities to damage the West, but he warned that Russia – and Iran – would now look to criminal activity for their “dirty work”.
He claimed Russia’s military intelligence agency the GRU, who are widely blamed for the 2018 Salisbury attacks, has been actively recruiting criminals as proxies.
“The GRU in particular are on a sustained mission to generate mayhem in British streets,” McCallum said. “We’ve seen arson, sabotage and more. Dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.”
To anyone considering working for the hostile states, he said: “If you take money from Iran, Russia or any other state to carry out illegal acts in the UK, you will bring the full weight of the national security apparatus down on you. It’s a choice you’ll regret.”
In the address from the government’s Counter-Terrorism Operations Centre in West London, the director-general of MI5 also explained the magnitude of this overseas aggression, saying: “In just the last year the number of state threat investigations we’re running has shot up by 48%.”
McCallum’s warning about such underground methods to disrupt the country adds to growing concerns about Russia.
Putin has been upping his nuclear threats towards Western allies over their support for Ukraine ever since he invaded the European country.
He claimed the whole of the West will be “at war” with Moscow if Ukraine is permitted to use British missiles against targets within Russia