Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5 has been stretched by threats from terrorists, hostile states, cyber criminals and organised crime, the country’s security minister warned on Sunday.
Ben Wallace, the government’s head of the spy network, said there were currently 600 “live” investigations and called for more funding for the agency.
The minister, who was appointed to the role in 2016, told the Mail on Sunday that the world was a “much more dangerous” place now than when he took office.
He said acts like the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury last year were not “one-offs” and were becoming more advanced.
While the majority of terror threats were from Islamic extremists such as ISIS and Al Qaeda, far-right neo-Nazi terrorists are growing in number, Mr Wallace said, and were adopting similar tactics.
“If we are going to carry on keeping people safe in the way we have been doing it compared to many countries, we’re going to need to invest. MI5 and the police are stretched, we are stretched because there are only so many hours in the day to deal with the growing threats such as neo-Nazi Right-wing extremism,” he told the newspaper.
“The change that has happened is that the far-Right have copied Islamic State (ISIS) – how to echo an event, often twisted, often inaccurate, to serve as a rallying cry for their cause.”
In March, the director general of MI5 Andrew Parker and the commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Cressida Dick said that they had foiled an increasing number of far-right terror plots.
Mr Wallace said it was the thought of “lone-wolf” extremists, which kept him awake at night.
In a warning to a government committee earlier this year, the minister said the internet had given individuals a way of connecting with other like-minded extremists.
He said: "Historically, in the past, they had no friends, they sat on their own, they couldn't talk to anyone else - now they live in a virtual safe space.
"They communicate through the internet ... sometimes we find them actually looking at ISIS terror manuals to learn how to make bombs - obviously for a different reason.”
"What’s worrying is the rapid growth of organised crime because of the things like smartphones and encryption. Their ability to organise better means that we have to invest to face that issue," he added.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
