OUR ENEMIES' MISSION TO CAUSE 'MAYHEM'

MI5 chief Ken McCallum warns of 'hell of a job' to ward off Russian and Iranian threats.

- Michael Knowles

RUSSIA and Iran are on a mission to cause "mayhem" in Britain, the head of MI5 has warned.

Enemy spies, assassins and terrorists pose the "most complex" threat to the UK in decades, with an increase in arson, murder, kidnap and sabotage conspiracies, Ken McCallum said.

The spy chief, left, admitted Britain's security service had "one hell of a job on its hands" as he revealed a resurgent Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are again plotting UK atrocities.

Mr McCallum warned “organised groups have the numbers and the knowhow to carry out, or inspire, horrendous mass casualty attacks". The intelligence chief warned Vladimir Putin's spies are on a "sustained mission to generate mayhem on British streets".

Speaking at the counter-terrorism operations centre in West London yesterday, he said: "The UK's leading role in supporting Ukraine means we loom large in the fevered imagination of Putin's regime, and we should expect to see continued acts of aggression here at home." He said Moscow's GRU intelligence agency, responsible for the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury in 2018, is "on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets - we've seen arson, sabotage and more".

He added they were "dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness", adding: "And having precisely the opposite effect to what the Russia state intends, in driving increased operational coordination with partners across Europe and beyond".

Mr McCallum said the GRU'S sabotage was done "in the misguided hope of weakening Western resolve".

Britain's top intelligence officer also warned: "While you'll recognise the headline themes of terrorism, Russia, Iran and China from previous speeches, the shifts underneath present the most complex and interconnected threat environment we've ever seen.

"It will be clear to you that MI5 has one hell of a job on its hands.

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