The head of MI5 warned today of the “intense and unrelenting international terrorist threat” in Europe, and said the security service had thwarted attacks on Britain at a rate of one every month since the Westminster attack in March 2017.
Andrew Parker, the intelligence agency’s director general, told European security chiefs in Berlin that while Islamic State has been expelled from its former strongholds of Raqqa in Syria, and Mosul in Iraq, the terrorist group is still plotting to “direct devastating and more complex attacks” against civilians in the West.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cooperation between European intelligence agencies would need to be stepped up, Parker said: “In today’s uncertain world, we need that shared strength more than ever.”
He reassured allies that “MI5’s commitment to European collaboration was unconditional”, reports The Times.
Russian threat
Making his first public comments since the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury this year, the spy chief also took aim at Russia, accusing the Kremlin of “deliberate, targeted, malign activity intended to undermine our free, open and democratic societies”.
Under Vladimir Putin, he said, the Russian government had engaged in “unprecedented levels” of “aggressive and pernicious actions”, committing flagrant breaches of international rules that amounted to “criminal thuggery”.
There is a need “to shine a light through the fog of lies, half-truths and obfuscation that pours out of their propaganda machine”, Parker said.
The Russian embassy in London suggested that it was Britain that was known for its fogs.
-
The Mandelson files: Labour Svengali’s parting gift to StarmerThe Explainer Texts and emails about Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador could fuel biggest political scandal ‘for a generation’
-
Magazine printables - February 13, 2026Puzzle and Quizzes Magazine printables - February 13, 2026
-
Heated Rivalry, Bridgerton and why sex still sells on TVTalking Point Gen Z – often stereotyped as prudish and puritanical – are attracted to authenticity
-
How the ‘British FBI’ will workThe Explainer New National Police Service to focus on fighting terrorism, fraud and organised crime, freeing up local forces to tackle everyday offences
-
How the Bondi massacre unfoldedIn Depth Deadly terrorist attack during Hanukkah celebration in Sydney prompts review of Australia’s gun control laws and reckoning over global rise in antisemitism
-
Who is fuelling the flames of antisemitism in Australia?Today’s Big Question Deadly Bondi Beach attack the result of ‘permissive environment’ where warning signs were ‘too often left unchecked’
-
Ten years after Bataclan: how has France changed?Today's Big Question ‘Act of war’ by Islamist terrorists was a ‘shockingly direct challenge’ to Western morality
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Manchester synagogue attack: what do we know?Today’s Big Question Two dead after car and stabbing attack on holiest day in Jewish year
-
The Miami Showband massacre, 50 years onThe Explainer Unanswered questions remain over Troubles terror attack that killed three members of one of Ireland's most popular music acts
-
The failed bombings of 21/7The Explainer The unsuccessful attacks 'unnerved' London and led to a tragic mistake
