MI5 lied about relations with neo-Nazi informant, watchdog says

The MI5 building in London. Its management of agent X ‘fell far below the standards the public, the courts and Ipco have every right to expect,’ the watchdog said. Photograph: Alex Segre/Alamy View image in fullscreen The MI5 building in London. Its management of agent X ‘fell far below the standards the public, the courts and Ipco have every right to expect,’ the watchdog said. Photograph: Alex Segre/Alamy MI5 lied about relations with neo-Nazi informant, watchdog says Review of case criticises handling of agent X, who exploited role with agency to violently threaten his girlfriend MI5 has been reprimanded by a watchdog for lying about its relationship with a neo-Nazi informant, who had exploited his role with the spy agency to violently threaten his girlfriend. The Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (Ipco) criticised MI5’s handling of a man known only as agent X, and said some of its officers had initially misled the courts and the regulator about his true status. Although MI5 had confirmed to the BBC that agent X was an informant, the spy agency initially told Ipco and the courts that it could “neither confirm nor deny” its relationship with him, a standard form of “no comment” it uses. That had frustrated the efforts of “Beth”, agent X’s girlfriend, in bringing legal complaints against MI5 after he had attacked her with a machete and tried to rely on his status as an informant to discourage her from speaking out. “MI5’s management of agent X fell far below the standards the public, the courts and Ipco have every right to expect,” said Brian Leveson, the investigatory powers commissioner, as he published a review of the case on Thursday. “What makes this case particularly grave is that Ipco and the courts were misled,” said the watchdog, which reviews the use of covert powers by public bodies. “Failings of candour undermine the entire basis of oversight and accountability.” View image in fullscreen Brian Leveson, the investigatory powers commissioner, published a review of the agent X case on Thursday. Photograph: Karl Black/Alamy The identity of agent X, a foreign national involved in neo-Nazi movements, is unknown and he is understood to have since left the UK. He was recruited by MI5 before 2019, but came under investigation by a BBC reporter, Daniel de Simone. The journalist contacted agent X, saying he planned to report he was “a dangerous neo-Nazi”. The informant immediately contacted MI5. Officers handling the case, fearing X’s life could be in danger, tried to suppress a potential BBC report by telling De Simone that X was “not a real extremist, but was pretending to be so at the behest of MI5”, according to the account of events contained in the 211-page Ipco report. One MI5 official, known only as Officer 2, then responsible for communications, confirmed to the journalist that X was an informant. However, De Simone continued to investigate, believing him in fact to be “a seriously violent and abusive person, with paedophilic