Ex-MI5 chief says those who think UK already at war with Russia ‘may be right’
The former head of MI5 has said those who think the UK is already at war with Russia “may be right”.
In June, UK defence advisor Dr Fiona Hill said that because of “the poisonings, assassinations, sabotage operations, all kinds of cyber attacks and influence operations,” it was fair to conclude “Russia is at war with us”.
Appearing on the House of Lords’ official podcast, Baroness Manningham-Buller said: “Dr Hill probably knows more about Putin than anybody else.”
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She added: “Since the invasion of Ukraine, and the various things I read that the Russians have been doing here, sabotage, intelligence collection, attacking people, and so on… Fiona Hill may be right in saying we’re already at war with Russia.
“It’s a different sort of war, but the hostility, the cyber attacks, the physical attacks, intelligence work, is extensive.”
Baroness Manningham-Buller was MI5’s director general from 2002 to 2007. File pic: Reuters
‘We were wrong’ about Russia in 2005
Baroness Manningham-Buller served in MI5 for 34 years, becoming director general in 2002 before retiring in 2007.
Speaking to the Lord Speaker’s Corner podcast, she recalled meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin after the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland.
“We all hoped that the past history of Russia wouldn’t prevail, and, at the end of the Soviet Union, we would have a potential partner,” she said, “and that was one of the reasons why Putin was with us for the G8 in 2005.”
G8 leaders pose for a photo at the end of the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. File pic: Reuters
The former head of MI5 added: “I met him when he came back to London. But actually, we were wrong in that, because Russia is extremely hostile to the West, and we’ve seen it in all sorts of ways.
“I didn’t anticipate that within a year, he’d be ordering the murder on London streets of [Russian dissident Alexander] Litvinenko.”
Mr Litvinenko, a former FSB agent, died in 2006, almost three weeks after drinking tea poisoned with radioactive polonium-210, a rare and very potent radioactive isotope.
Before fleeing Russia and being given British nationality, Mr Litvinenko had accused Mr Putin of corruption. It is understood that he ingested the tea during a meeting with two Russian spies at a London hotel.
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The former intelligence chief also spoke about the West’s soft power, recalling “the HIV work funded by the Americans in Africa” and noting that cutting foreign aid “means that we leave space for your friendly Chinese diplomat”.
She added: “If we withdraw from the world, they can move in because they have a strong economic base, so I think soft power… whether it’s the BBC World Service, whether it’s aid, whether it’s de-mining, all contribute importantly to our influence in the world, as well as being of humanitarian importance.”
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War decorated pigeon and reading upside down
In a more light-hearted note, Baroness Manningham-Buller shared that she can read upside down – saying “it’s a professional talent!” – and that her mother bred carrier pigeons for intelligence during the Second World War.
Sharing the story of Mary Manningham-Buller, later Viscountess Dilhorne, the baroness said: “The pigeons were dropped in wicker baskets or little slings with parachutes to occupied France and (they) brought back messages strapped to their ankles, and she would then ring the War Office and somebody would come and collect the message.
“It was a story in our family, which I always thought must be apocryphal, that one of her pigeons had brought back information on the V-2 (rocket) site at Peenemunde, which was then bombed by the RAF.
“But I subsequently discovered that there was a record of this, and it was true, and her pigeon got the Dickin Medal for that.
“I rather like that only the British give medals to animals.”
Sadiq Khan has hit back at politicians “spreading misinformation” about safety in London as new data shows the number of violent crimes leading to injury has fallen in every borough over the past year.
Figures from the mayor’s office for policing and crime compare the 12 months ending in August 2025 with the previous 12 months – and show there were 8,749 fewer crimes which resulted in someone being hurt, a drop of nearly 12%.
The borough of Havering in east London recorded the largest drop (16.3%) followed by Enfield in north London (16.1%).
The smallest decreases were in Greenwich (4.3%) and Kensington and Chelsea (4.6%).
Sir Sadiq said: “We’ve seen a number of politicians here and across the globe talking down London and spreading misinformation about crime and safety in the capital.
“The evidence is clear, our approach to tackling crime and its complex causes works. It’s driving down violence right across the capital.”
His comments come after Donald Trump reignited his feud with Sir Sadiq earlier this month by accusing him of doing a “terrible job” and claiming “crime in London is through the roof”.
The US president also hit out at the mayor in a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, where he also made the outlandish claim that London “wants Sharia law” – something there is no evidence for.
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Trump attacks UN and London mayor
Asked about the attacks, Sir Sadiq said: “I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic, and he is Islamophobic.”
He added that the public would be “wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head”.
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According to the mayor’s office, overall homicides in London are at a 10-year low, and the city’s rate is lower than in Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and all major US cities.
The rate of homicide was down by 17% in the 12-month period to June this year compared with the 12-month period to May 2016, it previously said.
Sir Sadiq speaks with a police officer during a walkabout in the West End earlier this year. File pic: PA
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said: “We’re targeting the most dangerous individuals, disrupting criminal networks, and investing in prevention to protect those most at risk.
“That’s why fewer people are being hurt, fewer lives are being lost, and London is becoming a safer city.”
The Conservatives rejected the suggestion that London is safer.
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Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Under this Labour mayor, criminals know the odds are stacked in their favour.
“Only one in 20 robberies is solved, fewer offenders are being jailed, and more than a thousand police officers have been cut from the Metropolitan Police, with Sir Mark Rowley warning of further losses this year.
“Londoners don’t feel safer because London isn’t safer.”
Model Penny Lancaster has said she “felt ashamed and belittled” by how former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace treated her on the TV show.
Lancaster, who is also a TV personality, and is married to singer Rod Stewart, told Sky News’ The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee programme that she also felt let down by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
“I didn’t feel like I was supported in that moment, I felt ashamed and belittled by the way Greg Wallace had treated me but equally I felt disappointed that the production company hadn’t come to my rescue,” Lancaster, 54 and a MasterChef contestant in 2021, said.
“There is a long way to go, but just by people coming forward and being honest about their experiences I think will help in the long term.”
At the end of July, Wallace, 60, apologised after a report commissioned by Banijay UK, and carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin, found 45 out of 83 allegations against him were substantiated.
Sir Rod Stewart criticised Wallace on Instagram in November 2024 and claimed he “humiliated” his wife when she was on the show.
He wrote: “Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully.”
Gregg Wallace. Pic: PA
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Sky News has approached Wallace for comment.
He has previously apologised to people he has hurt, saying in July that he knows he has said things that have offended people. He has denied a specific allegation of unwanted touching.
The BBC referred Sky News to their statement from July, in which the corporation said: “Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.
“We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year. We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour.”
Penny Lancaster speaks to Sarah-Jane Mee
Banijay UK, the producers of MasterChef, told Sky News: “We are extremely sorry to anyone who has been impacted by any inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace whilst working on our shows and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed.
“Ways of reporting concerns whilst working on our productions, protocols around behaviour and training for both cast and crew, have improved exponentially in recent years and we constantly review welfare procedures across our productions to ensure that they are as robust as they can be.”
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