UK facing growing threat from Russia, Iran, and terrorists, MI5 chief says

Britain is facing an escalating threat from hostile states such as Russia, Iran, and China while the terrorism risk is "huge" with al Qaeda and Islamic State seeking to incite would-be attackers, the UK's domestic spy chief said on Thursday. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said there had been a 35% increase in the number of people being investigated over state threat activity, saying hostile nations were consistently descending into the "ugly" methods usually employed by terrorists. McCallum said his agency had disrupted "a stream of surveillance plots with hostile intent" from Russia and had tracked more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots. "In 2025, MI5 is contending with more volume and more variety of threat from terrorists and state...