The Director General of MI5 has apologised today to a woman who was victimised by a neo-Nazi informant while he was working for the Security Service.
‘Beth’, who is represented by the Centre for Women’s Justice, brought a complaint and a claim against MI5 in 2022, in which she alleged that her abusive ex-partner had boasted to her about being a paid informant for MI5, and left her terrified of the consequences if she reported his violence.
Her case was due to be heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which considers complaints and claims relating to covert state operations.
Beth’s allegations were also the subject of a long-running BBC investigation, and were featured in ‘The Abuser Working for MI5’, which included video footage of Beth’s ex-partner (referred to in media reports as ‘X’) terrorising and attacking her with a machete.
According to the BBC’s investigations, ‘X’ had previously been reported to a police force overseas, about allegations of serious domestic violence against a previous partner. He had also made public and private statements which suggested a genuine obsession with extreme violence.
Beth’s case attracted further media attention last year, after it was revealed by the BBC that MI5 had falsely claimed to multiple courts – including the Investigatory Powers Tribunal – that it had never confirmed or denied to journalists whether X had a connection to MI5. In fact, a senior MI5 officer had discussed X’s role as an informant, in some detail, with a BBC journalist in 2020, two years before Beth lodged her claim.
The BBC’s revelations led to MI5 conceding publicly that X was a genuine MI5 informant and that it had given false evidence in court.
Since those revelations, MI5 has agreed to settle Beth’s claim by paying her a confidential sum in damages and providing her with a private apology. In a statement on MI5’s website today, the Director General Sir Ken McCallum acknowledged the settlement and expressed his regret for his organisation’s handling of Beth’s claim.
Although this settlement brings Beth’s claim to a close, multiple investigations are still ongoing to determine how MI5 came to provide false evidence in three sets of legal proceedings, which will determine whether any personnel involved at MI5 should face proceedings for contempt of court. In September last year the Prime Minister directed the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (‘IPCO’) to launch its own probe into these events, at the request of the courts. IPCO is expected to complete its investigation this month.
Speaking about her settlement today, ‘Beth’ said:
“I am grateful for the compensation I’ve received but it can never do anything to repair what I went through at the hands of X. I'd pay that money so as not to have to experience even a minute of what I had to experience of the worst of his abuse. Unfortunately I feel very strongly that, in spite of this apology, the MI5 are still protecting this violent misogynistic predator as for years now they have refused to answer any questions about him.”
Kate Ellis, Joint Head of Litigation at Centre for Women’s Justice, who acted for ‘Beth’, said:
“A full hearing of Beth’s allegations would, in my view, have been highly embarrassing for MI5, who have already been heavily criticised for misleading the courts.
“Recruiting someone as an agent for our national security services affords them a degree of status, and protection. We have always maintained that MI5 did not adequately assess the risks of giving that status to someone with X’s history and his disturbing attitudes to women.
“Given all we have learned from this case, and the shocking evidence that is still coming out of the Undercover Policing Inquiry, I hope that the state will reconsider using women as a collateral in covert operations.”
ENDS
Notes:
For further information about the background to Beth’s claim, the BBC’s original reporting about the allegations against X can be found here.
In early 2025, the BBC published a number of reports about MI5’s reliance on false evidence in legal proceedings. See in particular: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w4nwdwywno; and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx25m231n8xo.
Centre for Women’s Justice also released its own press statement when these revelations emerged.
On 2 July 2025, the High Court handed down judgment in two joined sets of legal proceedings that had been impacted by MI5’s false evidence: involving Beth, the BBC, the Attorney General and MI5. In summary, the High Court concluded that a further independent investigation was required to help the Court determine, inter alia, whether anyone should face proceedings for contempt of court. The Court’s judgment, and a press summary, can be found here.
On 30 July 2025, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing Beth’s claim made its own ruling about the false evidence, in similar terms to the High Court: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/BETH-v-Security-Service-OPEN-Judgment-30.07.2025.pdf. The President of the Tribunal also wrote to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Sir Brian Leveson, to request its assistance in investigating MI5’s misleading of the court. The President’s letter to Sir Brian Leveson can be found here.
In September 2025, the Prime Minister directed the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office to conduct an investigation, as requested by the courts. The Prime Minister’s statement can be found here; and IPCO subsequently put out the following statement.
On 17 December 2025, IPCO announced that it expected to finalise a draft report in mid-March 2026, although there might be a delay in publication: https://ipco-wpmedia-prod-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/Agent-X-Progress-update-to-The-Rt.-Hon.-Lord-Hermer-KC-Attorney-General.pdf