MI5 Shifts Focus to Counter Russia and State Threats

Director-General Ken McCallum reveals resource reallocation as nation-state aggression rises, forcing tough decisions on counter-terrorism priorities.

• MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum disclosed that the agency has reduced its counter-terrorism efforts to address increasing threats from hostile states like Russia, Iran, and China.
• The agency faces challenges from state-backed plots, including sabotage, arson, assassinations, and espionage targeting sensitive information in universities and economic policies.
• McCallum described the shift as a response to the resurgence of 'sophisticated' conflicts between major global powers, marking the end of a decades-long focus primarily on terrorism.
• Teenagers radicalized online are an emerging domestic threat, with one in eight individuals under MI5 monitoring being under 18, prompting calls for local-level interventions in some cases.
• The Five Eyes alliance recently issued a public warning about the growing risk of child radicalization, highlighting the need for a 'whole society response' to violent extremism.

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