The head of the British Security Service assures that Russian officials have been operating in recent years as "private intelligence agents". The director of the British MI5, Ken McCallum, has warned that Russia is encouraging "sustained violence on the streets of Europe" and instigating "arson,

The head of Britain’s domestic security service said Russia’s military intelligence service was pursuing “dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.”

MI5 had also responded to 20 plots backed by Iran since 2022, he said, although he added the majority of its work still mostly involved Islamist extremism followed by extreme right-wing terrorism. The complex mix of terror-related threats and threats from nation states meant MI5 had "one hell of a job on its hands",