Sir Alex Younger was asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if UK spies were looking at a potential increase in terrorism in response to Israel's offensive, which has claimed more than 18,000 Palestinian lives.
The ex-chief of Britain's foreign intelligence agency said: "Speaking domestically, my understanding is that whilst we don't see a serious uptick now, what really alarms my former colleagues is a scale of radicalisation as a result of what is happening in the Middle East that is pretty well unparalleled.
"That augurs trouble ahead." A week after the October 7 killing spree by Hamas across southern Israel, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said the domestic intelligence agency was paying "very close attention" to events in the Middle East.
This story is from the December 14, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the December 14, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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