Overview
- Current and former officials told major outlets that Kash Patel assured MI5 a key FBI London post would be preserved even though funding had already been cut and the agent was reassigned to the United States.
- The role’s elimination was tied to White House-directed FBI budget reductions, and the bureau declined to comment on Patel’s discussions with MI5 as Britain’s Home Office reiterated it does not discuss intelligence matters.
- The London position was described as central to sophisticated surveillance work, with officials citing needs such as monitoring a proposed Chinese embassy site near the Tower of London.
- During Patel’s May visit to Britain, his armed security detail triggered an emergency meeting with UK counterparts after police determined he did not meet the threshold for a firearms exemption.
- New Zealand police confirmed they destroyed plastic 3D-printed replica pistols Patel brought as gifts, while allies have also raised alarms over his suspensions and firings of senior personnel, including the FBI’s former top representative in Australia.