Ken McCallum

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British intelligence officer, Director General of MI5 since 2020

Ken McCallum

Image Ken McCallum.jpeg
McCallum at Thames House (MI5 photograph)
Nationality British
Occupation Director General of the Security Service (MI5), from April 2020
Known for Annual MI5 threat updates (2020–2026); Iran plot counts
Education University of Glasgow (BSc Mathematics, 1996)
Predecessor Andrew Parker
Website MI5: Director General

Sir Ken McCallum is a British intelligence officer who has been Director General of the Security Service (MI5) since April 2020, the 18th person to hold the post.[1] He succeeded Andrew Parker after a career inside MI5 that began on Northern Ireland-related terrorism.[1]

McCallum is the public face of MI5's annual "threat update", a speech given most years since 2020 in which the Director General sets out the scale of terrorist and state threats to the UK. His speeches have put increasing weight on state threats from Russia, China and Iran, and in particular on numerical claims about Iran-backed plots: "at least ten" potential threats in 2022, "twenty" plots by 2024, "more than twenty" in a single year by 2025, and "more than fifty arrests" by 2026.[2][3][4][5]

His tenure has also seen MI5 apologise to the courts after giving false evidence in the "Agent X" case, and to the Operation Kenova investigation after late disclosure of records on the Provisional IRA's internal security unit.[6][7]

Education

McCallum studied mathematics at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a BSc in 1996, and returned to give the university's Bowman Lecture on 1 June 2023.[8] MI5's appointment notice also refers to his Glasgow mathematics degree.[1]

MI5 career

Northern Ireland

According to MI5, McCallum spent his first ten years in the service working on Northern Ireland-related terrorism.[1] The Sun reported that he joined in 1995 and worked as an agent-runner in Northern Ireland.[9][10] The sources do not agree on the start date: in his October 2026 speech McCallum said he had joined MI5 "exactly thirty years" earlier, which points to 1996, the year of his graduation, and in his "first role, on Northern Ireland Terrorism".[5] In 2020 he described Northern Ireland as the place "where I grew up as an intelligence professional".[11]

Private office and 7 July 2005

The Sun reported that "after helping to run the office of then MI5 boss Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, he began heading up a large team tackling the al-Qaeda threat in 2008".[9] In his 2025 threat update McCallum said: "I will never forget the morning of the 7th of July 2005. I was in a meeting with the then Director General Eliza Manningham-Buller when the news came in".[4] The Scottish Sun wrote that Manningham-Buller "set him on the road to succeed her".[10] These sources confirm that he worked in Manningham-Buller's office and was with her on the morning of the 7/7 attacks. No source located says when the private-office role began, or that it began on 7 July 2005.

Counter-terrorism, cyber and secondments

MI5 says McCallum went on to hold senior roles in counter-terrorism against 'Islamist' groups, worked on cyber security, led MI5's counter-terrorism work for the 2012 London Olympics, and was seconded to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.[1] His government profile lists him as Director of the Information Economy Unit at the Shareholder Executive (2012–2014) and as a non-executive director of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (2015–2017).[12]

Director General Strategy and Deputy Director General

In April 2015 he became MI5's Director General Strategy, and in April 2017 Deputy Director General.[1] As deputy he led MI5's 2017 Operational Improvement Review after the London and Manchester attacks, which was overseen by David Anderson, and he oversaw MI5's response to the 2018 Salisbury poisonings.[1] By 2022 he said 102 of the review's 104 recommendations had been implemented.[2]

Director General

McCallum became Director General in April 2020.[1][13] MI5 was styling him "Sir Ken McCallum" by October 2025.[4] The date of his knighthood has not been confirmed here.

Annual threat updates, 2020–2026

McCallum's threat updates: main claims
Date Terrorism Russia China Iran
14 October 2020[11] 'Islamist' extremist terrorism "by volume remains our largest threat"; 27 late-stage plots in Great Britain disrupted since 2017, 8 of them right-wing Listed with China and Iran: "the differing national security challenges presented by Russian, Chinese, Iranian and other actors are growing" As Russia As Russia
14 July 2021[14] Extreme right-wing "one in five" GB counter-terrorism investigations; 29 late-stage plots in four years, 10 of them extreme right-wing State threats "predominantly" from Russia, China and Iran As Russia As Russia
16 November 2022[2] 37 late-stage plots since 2017; 'Islamist' terrorism "about three quarters of our terrorist caseload" More than 600 Russian officials expelled from Europe, "over 400 of whom we judge are spies" Repeats that the Chinese Communist Party poses "the most game-changing strategic challenge to the UK" "The state actor which most frequently crosses into terrorism"; "at least ten" potential kidnap or kill threats since January 2022
8 October 2024[3] 43 late-stage plots since March 2017; "headline split" of counter-terrorist work "roughly 75% 'Islamist' extremist, 25% extreme right-wing terrorism", though such labels "don't fully reflect the dizzying range of beliefs"; 13% of those investigated under 18 The GRU "is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets" Focus on coercion, threats to democracy and information security, within an economic relationship that "supports UK growth" "Twenty Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats" since January 2022
16 October 2025[4] 19 late-stage plots since start of 2020; one in five of 232 terrorism arrests of under-17s 35% rise in state-threat investigations; Bulgarian spy ring Christine Lee; Salt Typhoon "More than twenty potentially lethal Iran-backed plots in just the one year"
13 October 2026[5] No 'Islamist' share given; terrorism and state threats "pretty much of equal scale"; threat level SEVERE, driven "in significant part by Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism" "Aggressor number one"; "almost 1000 expulsions" since the invasion of Ukraine First national security convictions connected to China (May 2026); espionage alert to universities "More than fifty arrests in the UK" over twelve months; no plot count

In 2023 there was no Thames House speech; McCallum spoke at a Five Eyes summit at Stanford in October 2023, where he described the previous 18 months as "a particularly intensive phase of Iran-generated threat on UK soil", aimed "predominantly" at dissidents and Persian-language media.[15]

Iran

How the numbers changed

McCallum's Iran figures moved from a cumulative count of "potential threats" to an annual count of "plots", and then to arrests:

  • 16 November 2022: "We have seen at least ten such potential threats since January alone".[2]
  • 20 February 2023: Tom Tugendhat, as Security Minister, told the Commons the UK had "responded to 15 credible threats since the start of 2022".[16]
  • 8 October 2024: "Since January 2022 ... we have responded to twenty Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats".[3]
  • 4 March 2025: Dan Jarvis repeated the figure of 20 to the Commons. The only conviction he cited was the 2023 case of the man who carried out reconnaissance of Iran International.[17]
  • 16 October 2025: "MI5 has tracked more than twenty potentially lethal Iran-backed plots in just the one year since I last stood at this podium."[4]
  • 13 October 2026: "Over the last twelve months, our Iran-linked operations have led to more than fifty arrests in the UK."[5]

No list of the plots has been published, so the counts cannot be checked against cases. When questioned after the 2026 speech, McCallum played down Iran's capability in the UK. Asked whether Iran could mount complex attacks, for example with explosive drones, he said: "Given what we've actually seen in practice in the UK in recent years, that has not been anywhere near (that) level of capability".[18] The same Reuters report quoted him as saying the RAF Fairford incident "is not unique", a line that does not appear in the published speech.[18] Reuters also noted that Tehran "has rejected accusations of involvement".[18]

Status of publicly known cases

Alleged Iran-linked cases and their outcomes (as at 22 October 2026)
Case Outcome Court finding on state direction
Reconnaissance of Iran International, February 2023 Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev convicted on 20 December 2023 of attempting to collect information likely to be useful for terrorism; jailed on 22 December 2023 for three years and six months, with a further 12-month licence period; released on parole and deported to Austria in April 2026[19][20][21] None. The judge found that unnamed others planned an attack; the police said they found no evidence of who he worked for[22]
Stabbing of Pouria Zeraati, March 2024 Nandito Badea and George Stana jailed, 3 July 2026 (8 and 12 years); a third suspect is in Romania[23] The judge said: "I am sure that this was an attack for - or for the benefit of - a foreign power"[23]
Sepahvand, Javadi Manesh and Qalehali Khani Noori Charged May 2025 under the National Security Act 2023; trial at Woolwich under way; all deny the charges[24] Pending
Manchester plot (Rahman Salehi, Salam Ahmadyan) Charged 2 October 2026[25] Pending; Iranian direction is alleged by the prosecution
Arson attack on four Hatzola ambulances, Golders Green, 23 March 2026 Four men pleaded guilty on 28 August 2026 to destroying or damaging property being reckless whether life would be endangered; sentence expected in spring 2027[26] Not yet. The prosecution will argue a terrorism connection at sentencing; the defence says there is no evidence of one[26]
RAF Fairford, September 2026 Seven arrested and bailed; two re-arrested on 20 October 2026; no charges[27] None

The Dovtaev case

Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, an Austrian national born in Chechnya, flew from Vienna to Gatwick on 11 February 2023 and went straight to Chiswick Business Park in west London, where Iran International then had its studios. Security guards saw him filming the building and he was arrested in a nearby café.[19] On 20 December 2023 a jury at the Old Bailey unanimously convicted him of attempting to collect information likely to be useful for terrorism, contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.[22][19] Two days later Judge Richard Marks KC sentenced him to "three years and six months with a further licence period of 12 months".[20]

The prosecution did not say who had sent him. Its case was that he had carried out "hostile reconnaissance" for "an unidentified individual or group", the latest of several visits by "others unknown".[19] Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer KC put Iran's hostility to the channel forward as the motive:

As a result of the Iranian authorities' attitude towards Iran International, the organisation and its employees all became targets for violent reprisals. As such, the security at their place of work was of very real and practical interest to those who might wish to carry out such reprisals. The very fact that the defendant went to collect information shows that planning by others was already under way.[19]

Jurors were also told of "close political ties between Iran, Russia and Chechnya".[19] In mitigation, Paul Keleher KC said Dovtaev might have been a "useful idiot" sent to provoke a security response and "put the wind up" staff, and called the idea that Iran would contemplate a terrorist attack on a news organisation in England "far-fetched".[20]

In sentencing, the judge said: "There is of course no direct evidence in this case as to the precise use to which the video footage, if obtained, would have been put by others, but I am satisfied to the criminal standard of proof that an attack of some sort on Iran International was the plan of those who were behind this." He relied on images of the site's security, taken by "another or others" on "at least two previous occasions" going back to summer 2022, which had been found on Dovtaev's phone, and concluded that "they clearly trusted you to carry out this further reconnaissance".[20] The reported remarks do not name Iran or any other state as "those who were behind this".

Dovtaev told police in a prepared statement that he had filmed a video "to show to my three children as there was a lake there". At trial he said he had been "set up", did not know the identity of his contact, "quite simply liked" the building and had "no reason" to help the Iranian government attack its enemies in England.[19] At a Parole Board hearing on 19 March 2026, according to a summary reported by The Sunday Times and quoted by Iran International, he said he had been offered €50,000 to carry out the reconnaissance "because two business partners were in dispute", and "accepted that it was likely he was being used to gather intelligence on the security situation at the building, with a possible terrorist attack to follow". He was released and deported to Austria in April 2026.[21] The parole panel found that he had acted out of "greed, a desire for excitement and recklessness" rather than ideology, and he "didn't confirm" that the money came from an Iranian source.[28] No appeal has been found.

After the verdict Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "We don't know who did it but we have always been concerned about threats projected into the UK, and in this case particularly against Persian language media."[19] The Met's statement added: "Dovtaev never said who he was working for or with and we could find no further evidence of this".[22]

Officials have nonetheless presented the case as an example of Iran's use of criminals. In his October 2024 threat update McCallum followed his figure of "twenty Iran-backed plots" with: "Like the Russian services, Iranian state actors make extensive use of criminals as proxies – from international drug traffickers to low-level crooks. Last December a man was jailed for reconnaissance he had carried out against the then-headquarters of the Iran International media organisation." He did not say whether it was one of the twenty.[3] Dan Jarvis told the Commons in March 2025 that Iran's use of criminal proxies was seen "publicly in the 2023 conviction of the Chechen-born Austrian national",[17] and cited it again on 20 April 2026, apparently after the Parole Board had directed his release.[29][28] In both statements it was the only Iran-linked conviction Jarvis cited. The court made no finding that Iran was responsible.

HAYI, the Golders Green ambulance arson and related incidents

Between 9 and 23 March 2026, after the US and Israeli attack on Iran began on 28 February, a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI; in English the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, IMCR) claimed a series of attacks on Jewish sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and London. The most serious was the burning of four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green on 23 March.[30]

In MintPress News on 2 April 2026, David Miller argued that "there is no such group" and that "Half of its reported activities simply did not occur". Of ten incidents claimed between 9 and 23 March, he wrote, three (Greece, France and Haarlem) were "entirely fictional", a car fire in Antwerp did not target a Jewish owner, and a suspected plot in Heemstede never went beyond arrests. The five real incidents caused "no casualties and barely a smashed window (with the exception of the ambulance arson)". He noted that HAYI's own Telegram channels became active only after the first attacks, and that the Iran attribution came from three sources: the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal (12 March), Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs (16 March) and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in The Hague (23 March). He linked the story to the campaign to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and raised as "one theory" that the incidents were carried out by "hired gig criminals" or Israeli helpers, rather than by Iran.[31]

The ICCT's own analysis supports several of these points. It said the Greece, France and Haarlem claims "all likely constitute disinformation", that the "Greek attack video" showed an explosion in Rotterdam on 3 March, and that HAYI's first "official" Telegram account "only became active in connection with the latest incidents" and had "a few dozen followers". It reached the opposite conclusion on responsibility, however. While there was "no unequivocal proof of Iranian involvement", the claims had first spread through channels linked to Iraqi pro-Iranian militias, and the circumstances "strongly point towards Iranian-backed activity".[30] Miller also compared the wave to antisemitic incidents in Australia, which he said police had declared "fake" in March 2025.[31] What Australian police called a "fake terrorism plot" was the Dural caravan of explosives, "contrived by organised criminals".[32] In August 2025 the Australian government said ASIO had concluded that "the Iranian Government has directed at least two of these attacks", and it expelled Iran's ambassador.[33]

Later events have complicated both accounts. In May 2026 the US Department of Justice charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, whom it described as an operative of Kata'ib Hizballah and the IRGC, with helping to "plan and direct approximately 18 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe". It said these were "carried out in the name of a purportedly new terrorist group with the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, which is actually a front of Kata'ib Hizballah". It also alleged that he joined video calls with attackers in real time, including during an attack on a London synagogue on 18 April 2026. These are untested allegations.[34] The UK joined 23 other states on 10 June 2026 in condemning attacks "claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) and supported by their intermediaries".[35] On 13 July 2026 Yvette Cooper sanctioned the IMCR, "otherwise known as HAYI", which she said had claimed "7 attacks at UK locations". She said "sitting behind IMCR were members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, who almost certainly directed IMCR attacks across Europe".[36] In his 2026 update McCallum, for MI5, said: "Behind this front sat members of the IRGC."[5]

No court has yet ruled on who directed the UK incidents. The four men who admitted the Golders Green arson pleaded guilty to criminal damage, being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. Their lawyers said there was no evidence of a terrorism connection, and the judge has deferred the question to sentencing in 2027. The BBC reported that intelligence chiefs, after initially keeping "an open mind", concluded that "secret intelligence pointed to Iran or its proxies".[26]

Israeli claims of intelligence credit

Israeli officials have said several times that they supplied the intelligence behind Western action on Iranian plots. In November 2022 the public broadcaster Kan reported, without sources, that Israel had passed the UK information on threats to two Iran International journalists.[37] In October 2025 a Mossad statement issued by Benjamin Netanyahu's office said "dozens of attack tracks were thwarted" through work "with partners in Israel and abroad". It described Iran's method as "terror without Iranian fingerprints", naming Australia, Greece and Germany but no UK case.[38] After the RAF Fairford incident in September 2026, Netanyahu said: "We gave the Brits the intel, that there was going to be an attack, and it's an Iranian-sponsored attack".[39] Whitehall officials had already said the Fairford arrests were not an "intelligence-led operation", and no viable explosives were found.[40] No public response from MI5 or the government to Netanyahu's claim has been found. David Miller's article cites the October 2025 Mossad statement, and it rests its case on the role of Israeli government and allied sources in spreading the HAYI attribution.[31]

Terrorism: plot counts and the 'Islamist' framing

Plot counts before McCallum

Publishing plot numbers was established practice before McCallum's time. In November 2006 Eliza Manningham-Buller said MI5 knew of "nearer thirty" plots and "some 200 groupings or networks, totalling over 1600 identified individuals". The Guardian called this "the first time MI5 has provided figures to illustrate its assertions".[41][42] Jonathan Evans raised the number of individuals to "at least 2,000" in 2007.[43] In 2013 Andrew Parker told the Intelligence and Security Committee that 34 plots had been disrupted since 7/7.[44]

David Miller and Rizwaan Sabir traced the plot figures that official sources gave the press between 2006 and 2008. They included "at least 20 major plots" in June 2006, "70 plots" in July, 74 in August, 30 in November, "80 separate terror plots" in July 2008 and 30 in December 2008. The authors called these "irregular and inconsistent" and noted that "there was never any explanation for the fluctuations, nor was any explanation or definition of a terrorist 'plot' given". They concluded that "the definition of 'plot' may be elastic enough to respond to the needs of strategic communication work".[45] McCallum's "late-stage attack plot" totals (27, then 29, 37, 43, and 19 since 2020) and his Iran counts follow the same format. MI5 publishes no list or definition against which they can be checked.[11][3][4]

What the figures measure

McCallum's 'Islamist' shares refer to MI5's counter-terrorism caseload in Great Britain: "about three quarters of our terrorist caseload" in 2022, and "roughly 75% 'Islamist' extremist, 25% extreme right-wing" in 2024.[2][3] The two shares add up to 100%, leaving no share for Northern Ireland-related terrorism, even though MI5 has led national security work in Northern Ireland since 2007.[43] Three other datasets measure different things:

  • The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) counts incidents and arrests reported in Northern Ireland.[46]
  • The Home Office counts terrorism arrests in Great Britain only, with no breakdown by ideology, and publishes ideology only for people in custody. It notes that Northern Ireland figures are published separately.[47]
  • Europol counts completed, failed and foiled attacks reported by EU member states.[48]

Northern Ireland

PSNI security situation statistics, calendar years (2026 = January to September)
Year Security-related deaths Shootings Bombings Paramilitary-style assaults Section 41 arrests Charged
2020 2 39 22 44 79 14
2021 2 27 5 37 130 23
2022 1 29 5 25 110 13
2023 0 33 8 31 104 21
2024 1 17 6 23 67 9
2025 0 9 15 21 21 8
2026 0 12 8 15 13 2

Source: PSNI.[46] By the same arrest power (section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000), the PSNI recorded more arrests in Northern Ireland than police made in the whole of Great Britain in every year from 2019/20 to 2024/25. For example, there were 121 in Northern Ireland in 2022/23 against 26 in Great Britain in the year to June 2023.[49][50] The gap closed only in 2025/26, when Northern Ireland recorded 18 such arrests, the lowest since 2001/02.[49]

Great Britain

People in custody in Great Britain for terrorism-related offences on 30 June, by ideology
Year 'Islamist' extremist Extreme right-wing Other Total
2020 184 45 14 243
2021 153 49 18 220
2022 157 63 17 237
2023 153 63 18 234
2024 158 72 22 252
2025 157 75 25 257
2026 157 80 38 275

Source: Home Office, table P.01. "Other" includes dissident Irish, left-wing and unknown.[50] The Home Office reports that the 'Islamist' share of terrorism prisoners in Great Britain fell from 70% in June 2021 to 57% in June 2026.[47] In the year to June 2026, 3,630 of 3,867 terrorism arrests in Great Britain (94%) were linked to Palestine Action after its proscription in July 2025.[47]

Europe

Completed, failed and foiled attacks in the EU by affiliation, as reported to Europol
Year Jihadist Right-wing Left-wing and anarchist Separatist Other Total
2020 14 4 25 14 0 57
2021 11 3 1 0 0 15
2022 6 4 18 0 0 28
2023 14 2 32 70 2 120
2024 24 1 21 4 8 58
2025 24 5 12 0 4 45

Sources: Europol TE-SAT reports for 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026. France later reported 4 separatist attacks for 2021 and 22 for 2022 that are not included in those years' totals.[48][51][52][53][54] Across 2020–2025, jihadist attacks were 93 of 323 (29%), fewer than left-wing and anarchist attacks (109). Europol described jihadist attacks as the most lethal. In McCallum's first year, the last year Europol carried UK data, the UK reported 62 terrorist incidents, of which 56 were "security-related incidents in Northern Ireland" and five were jihadist.[48]

Miller and Sabir set out the same pattern for 2006–2009. Europol recorded 472, 583, 515 and 294 attacks across the EU in those years, of which "'Islamist'-related incidents amounted to one, four, zero and one". In the UK they counted 371 attacks related to Northern Ireland against two by jihadists, so that "99.5 per cent of UK political violence came from armed Northern Irish groups".[45] Earlier, Miller had pointed to Home Office figures showing 609 terrorism arrests between September 2001 and June 2004 and 15 convictions, at least six of them for displaying Ulster loyalist symbols. He noted that "the number of convictions for planning or carrying out specific acts of terrorism is zero".[55] Both chapters argue that official statements focus on 'Islamist' terrorism out of proportion to how incidents are actually distributed. The 2012 chapter cites the Home Office Research, Information and Communications Unit's 2007/8 "key messages", one of which was designed to counter the belief that "the terrorist threat is exaggerated by the UK government".[45][55]

McCallum's own framing has shifted. In 2020 he called 'Islamist' terrorism the "largest threat" by volume. In 2026 he gave no 'Islamist' share and said the SEVERE threat level was driven "in significant part by Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism".[11][5]

Northern Ireland

McCallum said in 2022 that the Northern Ireland threat level had been reduced and that there had been "no completed national security attacks since 2019".[2] The level was raised to SEVERE on 28 March 2023 after the shooting of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, and lowered to SUBSTANTIAL on 6 March 2024.[56][57] In 2025 he described "the longest period without a national security attack since the start of the Troubles".[4] PSNI figures record no security-related deaths since January 2024 and 8 shootings in 2025/26, the lowest number since 1969.[49]

Controversies and oversight

Agent X

In 2025 the BBC showed that MI5 had given false evidence to three courts about a neo-Nazi agent known as "X", who had abused his former partner. On 2 July 2025 a panel led by the Lady Chief Justice rejected two reviews that had cleared MI5 of deliberate wrongdoing, finding "serious procedural deficiencies", and ordered a new investigation under the Investigatory Powers Commissioner.[6] McCallum repeated his "full and unreserved apology for the errors made in these proceedings".[6] In his 2025 speech he acknowledged that MI5 had been "justly criticised by the courts".[4]

Kenova and Stakeknife

When the final Operation Kenova report on the agent known as Stakeknife (Freddie Scappaticci) was published, McCallum said MI5 had "discovered additional relevant information" after its disclosure to the investigation was complete. He apologised to Sir Iain Livingstone and commissioned a review by Helen Ball, which "concluded that none of the material was deliberately withheld".[7]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 MI5, New Director General of MI5 appointed MI5, 30 March 2020, accessed 22 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 MI5, Director General Ken McCallum gives annual threat update MI5, 16 November 2022, accessed 22 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 MI5, Director General Ken McCallum gives latest threat update MI5, 8 October 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 MI5, Director General Sir Ken McCallum gives threat update MI5, 16 October 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 MI5, MI5 Director General Delivers Annual Threat Update MI5, 13 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Daniel De Simone, Judges order 'robust' inquiry into MI5 false evidence BBC News, 2 July 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 MI5, Director General's Statement on Publication of the Kenova Report MI5, 9 December 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  8. ↑ University of Glasgow, The Bowman Lecture 2023 / Ken McCallum, UofG Alumni Spotlight University of Glasgow, accessed 22 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ken McCallum, MI5 boss urges Sun readers to join elite spy team and keep Britain safe The Sun, 2021, accessed 22 October 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Scottish Sun, I grew up in Glasgow and now I'm MI5 chief - we're not all James Bond stereotypes The Scottish Sun, 2021, accessed 22 October 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 MI5, Director General Ken McCallum makes first public address MI5, 14 October 2020, accessed 22 October 2026.
  12. ↑ GOV.UK, Ken McCallum GOV.UK, accessed 22 October 2026.
  13. ↑ MI5, Director General MI5, accessed 22 October 2026.
  14. ↑ MI5, Director General Ken McCallum gives annual threat update 2021 MI5, 14 July 2021, accessed 22 October 2026.
  15. ↑ The National, MI5 chief warns of raised threat of Iranian terror attacks in UK The National, 17 October 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Tom Tugendhat, Statement on security threat to UK-based journalists GOV.UK, 20 February 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Hansard, Iranian State Threats House of Commons, 4 March 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Michael Holden, Iran and Russia are stepping up hybrid campaigns in Britain, UK spy chief says Reuters (via StreetInsider), 13 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 Emily Pennink, Man guilty of spying on London-based TV channel Iran International for terrorist purposes Evening Standard, 20 December 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Emily Pennink, Terror scout jailed over reconnaissance of TV channel before 'planned attack' The Independent, 22 December 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Iran International, UK releases man jailed for spying on Iran International in 2023 terror plot Iran International, 26 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Matt Smith, Chiswick Business Park terror scout sentenced to three and a half years in prison The Chiswick Calendar, 22 December 2023 (quoting the Metropolitan Police statement), accessed 22 October 2026.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Daniel Sandford, Two Romanians jailed for stabbing journalist on behalf of Iran regime BBC News, 3 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Nadeem Badshah, Alleged Iranian spies planned 'serious violence' against UK journalists, court hears The Guardian, 6 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  25. ↑ Crown Prosecution Service, CPS to prosecute two men for preparing act of terrorism in Manchester Crown Prosecution Service, 2 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Dominic Casciani and Adam Goldsmith, Four plead guilty to arson attack on Jewish community ambulances BBC News, 28 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  27. ↑ Counter Terrorism Policing, Two men re-arrested in the RAF Fairford investigation Counter Terrorism Policing, 21 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 ChiswickW4.com, Chiswick Business Park Terror Scout Released from Prison ChiswickW4.com, 1 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  29. ↑ Dan Jarvis, Security Minister statement on antisemitic attacks GOV.UK, 20 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Julian Lanchès and Uljana Vlagyimirova, Hybrid Threat Signals: Assessing Possible Iranian Involvement in Recent Attacks in Europe International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 David Miller, How A Fake Iranian Terror Group Was Invented To Proscribe IRGC in Europe – The story of Ashab al-Yamin MintPress News, 2 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  32. ↑ Elias Visontay and Daisy Dumas, Sydney caravan a 'fake terrorism plot' by criminals hoping to cause fear for personal benefit, police allege The Guardian, 10 March 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  33. ↑ Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and Tony Burke, Response to Iranian attacks Prime Minister of Australia, 26 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  34. ↑ US Department of Justice, Dual Iranian-Iraqi National Indicted for Providing Material Support to Terrorist Organizations Department of Justice, 28 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  35. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Joint statement on Iranian State Threats and HAYI-claimed attacks GOV.UK, 10 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  36. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK sanctions Iran-linked criminal group that publicly claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Jewish locations GOV.UK, 13 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  37. ↑ Times of Israel staff and AFP, Report: Israel tipped off UK about Iranian plan to attack local journalists The Times of Israel, 21 November 2022, accessed 22 October 2026.
  38. ↑ Amichai Stein, Iranian officer behind global terror plots, Mossad reveals The Jerusalem Post, 26 October 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  39. ↑ Imran Mulla, RAF Fairford: Netanyahu claims Israel warned UK of 'Iranian attack' Middle East Eye, 1 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  40. ↑ Imran Mulla, How RAF Fairford 'bomb plot' narrative fell apart as US and UK made competing claims Middle East Eye, 29 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  41. ↑ Eliza Manningham-Buller, The international terrorist threat to the UK MI5, 9 November 2006, accessed 22 October 2026.
  42. ↑ Richard Norton-Taylor, MI5: 30 terror plots being planned in UK The Guardian, 10 November 2006, accessed 22 October 2026.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 The Guardian, MI5 chief's warning - full text The Guardian, 5 November 2007, accessed 22 October 2026.
  44. ↑ The Guardian, MI5 chief says 34 UK terror plots disrupted since 7/7 attacks The Guardian, 7 November 2013, accessed 22 October 2026.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 David Miller and Rizwaan Sabir, 'Propaganda and Terrorism', in Des Freedman and Daya Kishan Thussu (eds), Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives, London: Sage, 2012, pp. 77–94.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Police Service of Northern Ireland, Security Situation Statistics: September 2026 accompanying spreadsheet PSNI, 9 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Home Office, Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000, to June 2026 GOV.UK, 8 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 Europol, European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2021 Europol, 2021, accessed 22 October 2026.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Police Service of Northern Ireland, Security Situation Statistics to 31 March 2026 PSNI, 14 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Home Office, Operation of police powers under TACT: annual data tables to June 2026 GOV.UK, 8 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  51. ↑ Europol, European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2022 Europol, 2022, accessed 22 October 2026.
  52. ↑ Europol, European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2024 Europol, 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.
  53. ↑ Europol, European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2025 Europol, 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  54. ↑ Europol, European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2026 Europol, 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 David Miller, 'Propaganda and the "Terror Threat" in the UK', in Elizabeth Poole and John E. Richardson (eds), Muslims and the News Media, London: I.B. Tauris, 2006, pp. 45–52.
  56. ↑ GOV.UK, Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level raised GOV.UK, 28 March 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  57. ↑ MI5, Threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Northern Ireland reduced to SUBSTANTIAL MI5, 6 March 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.
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