MI5 has been formally reprimanded by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (Ipco) for lying about its relationship with a neo-Nazi informant who exploited his role with the spy agency to threaten his girlfriend with a machete. The watchdog criticised the handling of the man, known only as agent X, and said some officers had initially misled the public about his true status.
Although MI5 had confirmed to the BBC that agent X was an informant, during subsequent court proceedings the agency would only say publicly that it could “neither confirm nor deny” its relationship with him. This hampered efforts by “Beth”, agent X’s girlfriend, to bring legal complaints against MI5 after he attacked her with a machete and tried to use his informant status to discourage her from speaking out.
Brian Leveson, the investigatory powers commissioner, said MI5’s management of agent X “fell far below the standards the public, the courts and Ipco have every right to expect”. The watchdog added: “What makes this case particularly grave is that Ipco and the courts were misled. Failings of candour undermine the entire basis of oversight and accountability.”
The case emerged after BBC reporter Daniel De Simone contacted agent X, a foreign national involved in neo-Nazi movements, and told him he planned to report that he was a dangerous extremist. MI5 officers, fearing for X’s life, tried to suppress the story by claiming he was not a real extremist but was pretending to be one at the behest of the agency. A senior MI5 official, Officer 2, later denied to colleagues that he had confirmed X’s status to the BBC, despite having done so, leading to a misleading “no comment” position in court. The BBC eventually won a legal battle, allowing the story to be published, and MI5 later acknowledged that a senior spy had given false evidence in three court cases.
The reprimand comes as the Hillsborough law, which introduces a duty of candour for public officials and now applies to individual MI5 officers, cleared the Commons. It also follows a public inquiry into the Manchester Arena attack, which found that an MI5 corporate witness had initially not given an accurate picture of what the agency knew about the suicide bomber. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Ipco report “outlines a series of failings both individually and organisationally”. Compensation was paid to Beth earlier this year.
