British counterintelligence instructed to focus on spies from Iran, China, Russia

MI5 has been ordered to “refocus” its efforts on targeting spies rather than terrorists following a major recruitment drive by Russia, China and Iran, Report informs referring to The Telegraph.

Russia’s war in Ukraine, the growing number of Chinese agents operating in the UK and the use of organised criminals by Iran have shifted the security service’s main targets significantly.

While domestic and international terrorism remain a priority for MI5, more resources are now being pushed towards Russian, Chinese and Iranian counter-espionage operations, government sources have said.

MI5 has been asked by ministers to “refocus a lot of their efforts on the espionage threat, particularly the state threat from China, Russia and more recently Iran as well”, a senior government source said.

They insisted that “counter-terrorism has not been deprioritised but this has been prioritised alongside it”, adding that “their workload has definitely shifted in that direction”.

The source pointed out that in the wake of the 2018 Salisbury Novichok attack, Russia “lost a large chunk of their intelligence officers overnight” and has since been trying to recruit new assets to plug the gaps.

Britain expelled 23 Russian spies as part of its “full and robust response” to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The source went on to explain that Britain’s support for Ukraine in the war against Russia has also led to increased spying activity.

“The more you step out, the more you find yourself in their crosshairs,” they said.