MI5 false evidence was a serious failing, Cooper says
One inquiry was commissioned by Cooper and the other was carried out internally by MI5.The two reviews took place after the BBC revealed MI5 had lied to three courts in a case concerning a neo-Nazi state agent who abused women. The flawed reviews cleared MI5 of deliberate wrongdoing.Wednesday's High Court judgement said the new investigation should be carried out under the auspices of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Sir Brian Leveson, who has oversight of MI5's surveillance activities. His office, IPCO, was also provided with false evidence by MI5 in the case.The Home Office has refused to answer questions about the position of MI5's third-in-command, the director general strategy, whose witness evidence was found by the High Court to have been neither fair or accurate and to have omitted critical information, which had to be forced out of MI5 by the court.Cooper did not mention the senior spy in her statement.She said she remained "deeply concerned" about what happened, and that "internal processes at MI5 must improve, starting with the implementation of all recommendations made so far in relation to this case". She added that she has asked the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, to conduct an internal review of how "evidence from MI5 should be prepared and presented in future"."I have asked my officials to review the wider issues raised by this case," she added.
The case began in 2022 with an attempt to block the BBC from publishing a story about a neo-Nazi agent known as Agent X. He used his role to coerce and terrify his former girlfriend - known publicly as "Beth" - and had attacked her with a machete.MI5 gave evidence to three courts, saying that it had never breached its core secrecy policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) that X was a state agent.But in February, the BBC was able to prove with notes and recordings of phone calls with MI5 that this was false.When we first exposed the abuse by Agent X in 2022, Cooper – then shadow home secretary – said in a BBC interview that the report "showed very disturbing images of abuse, and domestic abuse is a horrible crime". "I think, given the seriousness of this, the Home Secretary needs to make sure there is an independent assessment of the handling of this case," she added. In a statement to parliament on Thursday, she said she was "unable to comment" on a case against MI5 brought by Beth, involving "accusations that Agent X committed acts of domestic abuse against their partner".But she added that the government was "clear that all organisations must have robust safeguarding policies under continuous review and must take any allegation of domestic abuse extremely seriously".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
40 minutes ago
- Times
Inside dawn raid with police as they target county lines gang boss
Six unmarked police cars weave through London at dawn, racing to a luxury penthouse in Canary Wharf. Thirty minutes earlier, I had joined officers from the Metropolitan Police's Operation Orochi task force as they were briefed on their mission: to arrest the suspected leader of a county lines gang that had been trafficking cocaine and cannabis in and out of Portsmouth for the past four years. As I sat in the police van at the back of the convoy, I was joined by Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, the head of the National County Lines Coordination Centre. He tells me gangs are updating their techniques to evade detection and drug lines are increasingly using encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp to build their customer base. 'We used to smash through people's front doors and they would rush to the bathroom to try and flush the drugs down the toilet as that's how we proved they were a drug dealer,' Mitchell said as we approach the flashy entrance of one of the tallest residential buildings in Europe. 'Now, they will try to smash their phone and damage their Sim card. That is the first thing they reach for as they know we are looking for digital devices — that's how we prove they are a drug dealer.' The raid on the suspected drug leader's penthouse last Thursday was part of a wider Metropolitan Police crackdown on organised crime. In the last week of June, officers shut down more than 100 county lines and arrested 301 people — 111 have been charged. County lines is the name given to drug dealing when gangs coerce carriers — often children and vulnerable people — to transport illegal drugs across police and local authority boundaries. Historically, the lines have mainly emanated from London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. Children's homes are used by gangs in a practice known as 'cuckooing'. As about 15 police officers squeeze into the lifts, Mitchell explains that county lines gangs are the most violent model of drug supply and they are often highly exploitative of children. 'This operation is based in Canary Wharf but at the point of sale in Portsmouth, children as young as 16 will be the ones holding the weapons and being put in a risky position,' he said. 'We pursue the line holders further up the chain but it is a constant battle as the reason criminal gangs tie up children in debt bondage is because it makes the business more profitable. Someone offers a child a free PlayStation or new trainers and then, before they know it, they are trying to sell cannabis and have become entangled in debt bondage.' Creeping up to the door of the penthouse suite, as simultaneous raids began in Portsmouth, the green light was given to smash through — revealing a panoramic view of the O2 Arena and the London docklands from the balcony. The suspect was arrested and class A and B drugs, two Mercedes-Benz car keys, more than £5,000 worth of cash and several designer watches were found in the bedroom. Co-ordinated raids led to the arrest of two more suspects in Portsmouth and one at Gatwick airport. Wider raids across London led to the seizure of 12 firearms, 78 dangerous weapons, such as zombie knives and samurai swords, nearly 70kg of class A drugs and more than £600,000 in cash. As Mitchell finished taking in the view from the balcony, he reiterated that phones were among the most valuable seizures. In the past, gangs relied on burner phones to send marketing messages and arrange deals but there had been a shift from that means of communication, he said. • One gram of ketamine and its 4,000-mile journey to the UK 'You no longer have throwaway phones sending out old-fashioned messages as gangs are using encrypted apps and social media,' he said. 'We want to get hold of the device, interrogate it and see if we can gather evidence. You might have an encrypted app but if you are caught with it we can build the case against you.' The use of encrypted apps to sell drugs was a response from the gangs to their changing customer base, he added. With the Taliban limiting how much heroin comes out of Afghanistan, gangs were increasingly selling synthetic opioids and prescription medicines such as pregabalin and ketamine. 'If you are buying ketamine, you are more likely to have a smartphone and buy through an app,' he said. 'Whereas if you are a hardened drug user addicted to crack cocaine and heroin, you are more likely to steal, commit burglary and theft to make a bit of money to live.' In the nine months to March, the county lines task forces — which primarily operate within the Metropolitan, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester forces — closed 1,225 lines and charged 808 line holders. The swish penthouses and expensive phones behind the UK's county lines are firmly in police crosshairs.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Starmerism DOES exist... It's Labour's same old spiteful politics of envy and class warfare dressed up for the modern age
Three days after Labour 's landslide victory in the General Election a year ago, when everyone was hailing and his message of 'Change', I wrote an article in this newspaper saying that within 12 months, 'People will quickly recognise Starmer as a vacillating bloviator'. Today – after having been proved comprehensively correct – I would like to make another prediction against the tide of present commentariat opinion.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Ministers reveal plan to nearly double onshore wind across England by 2030
The Government has unveiled its plan to almost double onshore wind across England by 2030. Ministers want to expand the country's onshore wind capacity from 14.8GW to 27-29GW by the end of the decade. It comes as part of wider Government ambitions to transition towards a clean power system by 2030, with the hope of boosting economic growth, creating jobs, reducing bills, decarbonising the grid and strengthening energy security. Last year, Labour axed the de facto ban on building onshore wind farms introduced by the Conservatives under David Cameron. The Government's move put onshore wind on an equal planning footing to offshore wind and nuclear, paving the way for projects to be rolled out faster in the coming years. The Conservatives criticised the strategy, accusing Energy Secretary Ed Miliband of making the country's energy 'unreliable and expensive' through his 'obsession with climate targets'. As part of the plan, the Government set out 40 actions for ministers and industry to take to hit the 2030 onshore wind ambitions. These include planning reforms, building supply chains and skilled workforces, resolving issues over how onshore turbines and aerospace infrastructure can co-exist, repowering old turbines, and exploring plans to expand the clean industry bonus for onshore wind. The Government claimed the strategy will support the creation of up to 45,000 skilled jobs by the end of the decade. In the foreword, Mr Miliband said: 'As one of the cheapest and fastest-to-build sources of power we have, onshore wind will play a critical role in boosting our energy independence with clean power by 2030. 'The reality is that every turbine we build helps protect families, businesses and the public finances from future fossil fuel shocks.' 'The reality is that every turbine we build helps protect families, businesses and the public finances from future fossil fuel shocks.' Matthieu Hue, co-chairman of the Onshore Wind Taskforce and chief executive of EDF Power Solutions UK and Ireland, said: 'This strategy is focusing on overcoming barriers and challenges we face across the industry in the deployment of onshore wind while capturing the major socio-economic benefits it can bring to the environment and to local economies. 'This is a critical part of making Britain a clean energy superpower and delivering energy security.' The Government said communities that host wind farms will benefit from money for community initiatives, such as new football pitches or libraries, or even bill discount schemes. A typical 25MW wind farm paying the industry standard of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity per year could deliver £3.75 million of funding to be redistributed among the community on local initiatives of their choosing over a 30-year operating life, according to the strategy document. In a statement, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: '(The Energy Secretary) is shutting down the North Sea, concreting our gas wells and he's downgraded our plans for nuclear. 'All this means is that families' energy bills are going to go through the roof, and we'll just end up importing more from coal-powered China. 'The US security services have already warned us that Chinese wind turbines could pose serious risks to our national security, but he won't do a China audit. Ed wants to hit Net Zero targets no matter the cost to the British public.' Elsewhere, the Government recently completed a process to de-risk offshore wind developments, led by the Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme. It said this will inform the Crown Estate's marine delivery route map on strategic use of the seabed so that more offshore wind farms can be built in a way that considers all marine sectors, including fisheries, and protects the environment. James Robottom, RenewableUK's head of onshore wind delivery, said: 'Overturning the unpopular onshore wind ban, which deprived us of one of the quickest and cheapest technologies to build for a decade, was just the start. 'The hard work to make the most of this great opportunity to grow our economy and strengthen the UK's energy security is now in full swing.' Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary of trade union Prospect, said: 'The lost years resulting from the last government's inexplicable ban have resulted in significant workforce and skills-related challenges that urgently need to be addressed, which hopefully they will be in the forthcoming clean energy workforce plan.'
