Key facts
- Britain faces a more complex and dangerous threat landscape than in 2001, according to MI5 chief Ken McCallum.
- McCallum warned that "dragons" like Russia and China pose strategic national security threats alongside "snakes" of radical Islamic extremists.
- He called for a "whole nation" approach to national security, involving government, business, academia, and the public.
- Chinese state actors pose a daily threat to UK national security, including cyberespionage and interference in public life.
- MI5 recently intervened to stop a threat from Beijing.
- The prosecution of two men charged with spying for China collapsed after officials reportedly refused to testify that Beijing was a threat.
Sir Ken McCallum, the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, has issued a rare and dramatic "call to arms," warning that the nation confronts a more perilous and intricate security environment than it did in 2001, the year of the 9/11 attacks.
In an exclusive article for The Independent, McCallum stated that while mass-casualty terrorist ambitions persist, these threats are now compounded by strategic national security challenges posed by capable states, which he metaphorically termed "dragons." He identified Russia and China as principal examples of these state actors, contrasting them with the ongoing threat from radical Islamic extremists, referred to as "snakes." This dual threat landscape, he argued, is the "worst of both worlds."
McCallum emphasized that national security should not be the sole concern of intelligence agencies but a "shared national endeavor" requiring the active participation of government, business, academia, and the public. He highlighted the success of efforts to dismantle Al-Qaeda after 9/11, noting that its current capabilities are significantly diminished compared to 2001, but cautioned against complacency and stressed the need to anticipate future threats.
In separate remarks, McCallum stated that Chinese state actors pose a daily threat to Britain's security, citing recent MI5 interventions against Beijing-backed meddling. This meddling includes cyberespionage, theft of technology secrets, and covert interference in UK public life. The remarks come amid a controversy over the collapse of a spying case against two men accused of working for Beijing, with prosecutors reportedly refusing to testify under oath that China was a threat during the period of the alleged offenses.