MI5 boss says he will ‘never back off’ from China threat – as Beijing plot disrupted in last week

Published

1 month ago

October 16, 2025

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The head of MI5 says he will “never back off” from confronting threats from China as he revealed his officers disrupted a case linked to Beijing in just the past week.

More broadly, Sir Ken McCallum said the number of people in the UK under investigation for “state threat activity” – also including from Russia and Iran – has jumped by 35% in the past year compared with the previous 12 months.

He admitted he felt frustration at the collapse last month of a trial against two British men accused of spying for China, but he stressed that the Security Service had still successfully derailed the alleged espionage operation.

With pressure mounting on Sir Keir Starmer over why the high-profile trial foundered, the director general of MI5 – choosing his words carefully given the controversy – confirmed that “Chinese state actors” pose a threat to UK national security “every day”.

Politics latest: Senior MPs launch ‘formal inquiry’ into China spy case collapse

More broadly, he warned that the threat from states – also including Russia and Iran – are escalating and becoming as ugly as terrorism.

He used an annual speech at MI5’s headquarters in London to say:

• The wider threat from nation states is escalating and becoming as ugly as terrorism

• Attempts by states – principally China, Russia and Iran – to carry out operations involving violence, sabotage, arson or surveillance are “routinely” being uncovered

• MI5 has tracked more than 20 “potentially lethal” plots backed by Iran in the past year

• Russia is hatching a “steady stream” of surveillance plots with “hostile intent”, while MI5 officers take it as a working assumption that Russian trolls will attempt to exploit any particular “fissures” in UK society using online posts, though these efforts are largely unsuccessful

• On terrorism, MI5 and the police have disrupted 19 late-stage attack plots since 2020 and have intervened in many hundreds of developing threats

• There is growing concern about children becoming involved in terrorism, with one in five of the 232 terrorism arrests last year involving minors under 17

“MI5 is contending with more volume and more variety of threat from terrorists and state actors than I’ve ever seen,” Sir Ken said.

Declaring a “new era”, the MI5 boss warned of “fast-rising” state threats coupled with a “near record” number of terrorism investigations.

He said this was forcing the biggest shift in MI5’s mission since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

China is a particular challenge as the Starmer government seeks to bolster economic ties with Beijing, while also wary of the security threat posed by Chinese spies.

“The UK-China relationship is by its nature complex, but MI5’s role is not,” Sir Ken said.

“We detect and deal, robustly, with activity threatening UK national security.”

These threats range from cyber espionage; attempts to steal secrets from universities such as by cultivating academics; or efforts to target parliament and other parts of public life.

“MI5 will keep doing what the public would expect of us, preventing, detecting and disrupting activity of national security concern,” said the MI5 chief.

“Our track record is strong. We’ve intervened operationally again just in the last week and we will keep doing so.”

The spy boss continued: “I am MI5 born and bred. I will never back off from confronting threats to the UK wherever they come.”

The speech was delivered amid a growing row around a decision by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to drop the espionage trial of Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher to two prominent Conservative MPs, and Christopher Berry, a teacher.

Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Prosecutors said the government had not provided evidence that China represented a threat to national security, prompting allegations by the Conservatives that the prime minister’s team had interfered with the case to protect the UK’s trading ties with China.

Attempting to push back, ministers on Wednesday released written evidence by Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser, that was given to the CPS. It spelt out the threat posed by China and his assessment of the allegations against the two individuals.

Given the political storm, the MI5 director general was careful when responding to questions on the furore.

But he chose to voice his support for Mr Collins who he has worked with, describing him as a “man of high integrity and a professional of considerable quality”.

Sir Ken was asked by journalists if he had been frustrated at the failure to prosecute.

“Of course I am frustrated when opportunities to prosecute national security threatening activity are not followed through for whatever reason,” he said, though he noted not all cases that involve MI5 lead to prosecution.

“I would remind you all that in the particular case… the activity was disrupted.”

On whether he regarded China to be a threat, the MI5 chief said: “Do Chinese state actors present a UK national security threat? And the answer is of course yes they do every day.”

But he added that UK wider bilateral foreign policy on China is a matter for the government.

UK

Starmer urges anyone with information on Epstein case to come forward – after Andrew misses Congress deadline

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Starmer urges anyone with information on Epstein case to come forward - after Andrew misses Congress deadline

Sir Keir Starmer has urged anyone with information on the Jeffrey Epstein case to come forward after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor missed the deadline to appear in front of US Congress.

US legislators have criticised Andrew for what they describe as “silence” amid their probe into Epstein after he failed to respond to their request for an interview.

When asked about Andrew missing the deadline and whether the former prince should help the case in any way he can, Sir Keir said on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa: “I don’t comment on this particular case.”

He added that “a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it”.

Andrew is not legally obliged to talk to Congress and has always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

It comes as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of US President Donald Trump, said on Friday she is resigning from Congress in January.

Ms Greene’s resignation followed a public falling-out with Mr Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticised him for his stance on files related to Epstein, as well as on foreign policy and healthcare.

Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a “transcribed interview” with Andrew in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein, the paedophile financier who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

But after saying they had not heard back, Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused Andrew of hiding.

Their statement read: “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s silence in the face of the Oversight Democrat’s demand for testimony speaks volumes.

“The documents we’ve reviewed, along with public records and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s testimony, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.

“Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status, or political party. We will get justice for the survivors.”

It follows Andrew being stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles earlier this month.

He had previously agreed to stop using his titles, but had expected to remain a prince and retain his dukedom, ahead of the publication of the memoirs of the late Ms Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager – an accusation he denies.

UK

Girl, 13, arrested on suspicion of murdering woman in Swindon

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Girl, 13, arrested on suspicion of murdering woman in Swindon

A 13-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in Swindon.

Police said the teenager was detained following an incident in Baydon Close, Moredon, in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.

Officers responded to reports of disorder inside a house. When they arrived, a woman in her 50s living at the address was found to be not breathing. She was declared dead at the scene.

There were no other reported injuries.

Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, from Wiltshire Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “This is a serious incident in which a woman has sadly died.

“We have set up a cordon at the address while an investigation is carried out.

“I can confirm that we have arrested a teenage girl in connection with this incident and we are not looking for anyone else.”

Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online as this could prejudice the case.

A police statement read: “Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while we continue carrying out our enquiries into the woman’s death.

“The suspect remains in custody at this time.”

Police said anyone with concerns should speak with their local neighbourhood policing team, either by emailing or approaching officers in person.

UK

Rail fares to be frozen for first time in 30 years

Published

7 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Rail fares to be frozen for first time in 30 years

Rail fares are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced.

Ministers promised that millions of rail travellers will save hundreds of pounds on regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns between major cities.

The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.

People commuting to work three days a week using flexi-season tickets will save £315 a year travelling from Milton Keynes to London, £173 travelling from Woking to London and £57 from Bradford to Leeds, the government said.

The changes are part of Labour’s plans to rebuild a publicly owned Great British Railways. Other planned changes include tap in-tap out and digital ticketing, as well as investing in superfast Wi-Fi.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government was introducing a freeze on rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which “will ease the pressure on household finances and make travelling to work, school or to visit friends and family that bit easier”.

“We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we’re freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.

“Commuters on more expensive routes will save more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash.”

Rail unions and passenger groups welcomed the move, praising how it will make travel more affordable for passengers and promote more sustainable travel alternatives.

Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “More affordable fares will encourage greater use of public transport, supporting jobs, giving a shot in the arm to local economies and helping to improve the environment.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the rail fare freeze “will be a huge relief to working people”.

“This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make that journey they need to take, and to help grow our railway in this country, because the railway is Britain’s green alternative – taking cars and lorries off our congested roads and moving people and goods safely around our country in an environmentally-friendly way,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union Aslef, said.

The Tories welcomed the move but said the government was “late to the platform”.

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “In government, the Conservatives kept fares on the right track with below-inflation rises and consistently called for no further hikes to protect hard-working commuters.”