Secret Service Accused of Misleading Courts and Failing to Act on Agent's Misconduct #
MI5 knew the warning signs about one of its informants and kept him working regardless, it has emerged.
The man, accused of being a neo-Nazi and obsessed with violence, is known only as Agent X. The revelations come from a secret inquiry by MI5's own watchdog — and from MI5's own internal documents.
'This whole case has been a disaster for everyone, and on reflection, we shouldn't have touched him [X] as a CHIS,' an MI5 officer said.
It is a retrospective admission that the warning signs around Agent X had been there all along.
The Warning Signs MI5 Ignored #
Agent X's girlfriend, known only as Beth, has accused him of using his status to carry out a pattern of misogynistic and violent abuse.
Among her allegations: an attack in which he used a machete against her.
These are the warning signs MI5 is accused of having ignored. Despite the agency's knowledge of them, Agent X continued his intelligence work while under investigation.
The case first surfaced in 2022, when the Government took the BBC to court in an effort to block the broadcaster's investigation into Agent X.
MI5's Watchdog Confirms the Failings #
The Office of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPCO), led by Sir Brian Leveson, launched an inquiry into MI5's handling of Agent X.
It found serious failings in how the agency managed him — failings serious enough to prompt a formal call for MI5 to rectify them.
However, IPCO found nothing to suggest Agent X was aware of any sinister motivation in becoming an agent.
IPCO's inspection concluded in 2024. In a statement, the watchdog said: 'MI5 subsequently made significant changes to its policies, practices and procedures, which have been tested at subsequent inspections. MI5's work in this area is ongoing and IPCO will continue to supervise this through its rigorous inspection programme.'
MI5 'Tried to Cover It Up' #
The findings add that MI5 tried to mislead IPCO about Agent X's real status.
The agency neither confirmed nor denied his secrecy classification — in what is believed to have been an attempt to stop IPCO investigating him, and, by extension, examining the warning signs MI5 had already been made aware of.
MI5 went further still, allegedly providing misleading evidence to three separate courts.
That was serious enough that IPCO reported the matter directly to the Prime Minister when its inspection concluded in 2024. The findings were recently disclosed to the BBC, together with previously secret documents. The proceedings remain live, with courts yet to decide what action to take over MI5's false evidence.
One of those documents suggested MI5 was aware of Agent X's situation well before the findings became public. It stated that he should never have been a covert human intelligence source, or agent, at all.
Beth Was Ignored, Too #
While MI5 ignored the warning signs about Agent X, the courts spent years doubting the woman who had raised them. Beth's allegations were dismissed and her credibility questioned — even as the very abuse she described became, in hindsight, the clearest warning MI5 had.
'They can't be trusted because they've already lied in court and painted me out to look a certain way and made me feel like I didn't have a voice or a valid story, but they have now done a 360-degree turn and paid compensation,' Beth said.
MI5 ultimately paid Beth compensation to settle a human rights claim — without admitting legal liability.
A Government spokesperson said: 'The abuse suffered by the woman in this case, known as Beth, was abhorrent, and we extend our sincere sympathies to her.'
For Beth, that isn't enough. 'I'd like to see a full apology from MI5 for the ways in which they portrayed me,' she said.
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