{"id":31362,"date":"2026-09-18T12:41:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=31362"},"modified":"2026-09-18T12:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:41:04","slug":"mi5-accepts-it-gave-evidence-based-on-lies-in-neo-nazi-spy-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2026\/09\/18\/mi5-accepts-it-gave-evidence-based-on-lies-in-neo-nazi-spy-case\/","title":{"rendered":"MI5 accepts it gave evidence based on lies in neo-Nazi spy case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\" data-block=\"text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">The security service has accepted it gave evidence based on lies to three courts and that senior MI5 officers were repeatedly dishonest.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It is the first time MI5 has accepted that lies were told to the courts while defending a violent neo-Nazi spy whose abuse was uncovered by the BBC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The lies were revealed by the BBC in February 2025, which the security service then vehemently denied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Timothy Otty KC, representing MI5, announced the position during a High Court hearing in London on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\" data-block=\"links\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<ul class=\"ssrcss-94r6ik-Stack e1y4nx260\" role=\"list\">\n<li class=\"ssrcss-qzx51b-LinkItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-7zrqh4-LinkHeadline e3eyuya4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cx25m231n8xo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">How I exposed MI5&#8217;s lie about its violent abusive agent<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ssrcss-qzx51b-LinkItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-7zrqh4-LinkHeadline e3eyuya4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/crmrwe84rp2o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">MI5 court evidence based on lies, report says<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\" data-block=\"text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He said &#8220;MI5 accepts without reservation&#8221; the findings of a damning report<b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">\u00a0<\/b>which concluded that it gave evidence based on &#8220;lies&#8221; about having kept to its core secrecy policy &#8211; known as &#8216;neither confirm nor deny&#8217; (NCND) &#8211; about the agent status of the neo-Nazi informant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The security service claimed it had maintained NCND and, consequently, the courts allowed it to keep information secret from a woman who was abused by him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But what MI5 said was untrue. The security service had in fact disclosed the man&#8217;s agent status in phone calls to me, as it tried to persuade me not to investigate him in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A panel of three senior judges &#8211; England and Wales&#8217; most senior judge, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr, President of the King&#8217;s Bench Division Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Chamberlain &#8211; is considering what action to take over the false evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In particular, it will decide whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings against certain MI5 officers or MI5 itself. Any such move would be unprecedented.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The report, by then-deputy investigatory powers commissioner Sir John Goldring, found that one senior MI5 spy &#8211; known as Officer 2 &#8211; lied repeatedly, while another &#8211; Officer 3 &#8211; misled his own colleagues and lied about what he was told.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He also found there were &#8220;serious and systemic failures in MI5&#8217;s conduct&#8221; throughout the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Otty said MI5 &#8220;fully accepts and acknowledges the gravity of the issues raised&#8221; in the report, published in July, and they must never happen again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He added that MI5 had committed to a major programme of reform under the leadership of director general Sir Ken McCallum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Otty argued against contempt proceedings being brought, saying it would not be in the public interest given Sir John&#8217;s detailed investigation, MI5&#8217;s apologies, and its commitment to a programme of reform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He said Officer 2 had resigned from the service and that Officer 3 had been suspended and was facing disciplinary proceedings, which could lead to his dismissal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Lawyers for both officers also argued against launching contempt proceedings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Matthew Butt KC, for Officer 2, said said the officer accepted that his conduct had fallen &#8220;below the standard expected of him&#8221;, for which he apologised and expressed regret.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But he said he denied acting dishonestly or having interfered with the administration of justice, and did not accept the report&#8217;s findings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Aaron Watkins apologised on behalf of Officer 3 and accepted his conduct &#8220;undoubtably&#8221; contributed to the courts and parties involved being misled, but denied it had been the result of dishonesty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He said the evidence presented by Sir John fell short of the threshold for contempt of court, and said such proceedings would not be in the public interest because there had already been a thorough investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Meanwhile, lawyers for the BBC said the corporation considered the threshold had been met and said there was a &#8220;very clear public interest&#8221; in doing so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Jude Bunting KC said providing false evidence was &#8220;a particularly serious affront to the administration of justice&#8221; and noted that while MI5 now offered a sincere apology to the court, its response when the lies were first exposed was &#8220;not consistent with transparency or responsibility&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">At the conclusion of the hearing, the Lady Chief Justice said it had been a &#8220;serious day addressing serious matters&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She said a judgment will be issued at a later date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\" data-block=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\" data-testid=\"image\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pflr6j-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-egie1y-Image edrdn950\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/3923\/live\/09651cf0-e8b9-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.jpg 976w\" alt=\"A heavily blurred photo of X, who is wearing a black T-shirt and holding a large machete\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<p>X physically and sexually abused Beth, attacking her with a machete<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\" data-block=\"text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The case centres around the foreign neo-Nazi misogynist &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-61508520\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an MI5 informant known as Agent X who used his security service role as a tool of abuse.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He coercively controlled his partner, known by the alias Beth, and attacked her with a machete. MI5 then helped him go abroad to continue intelligence work while under police investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The government took the BBC to court in 2022 in a failed attempt to block its investigation into X, but won him legal anonymity. Beth then sued MI5 at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, and in 2024 she sought a review of a ruling at the High Court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Arguing for secrecy in all three courts, the security service told judges that it had always stuck to its core secrecy policy and never told anyone whether X was an agent, including me. The courts were told this in a sworn statement from a senior officer, a deputy director called Witness A.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The courts accepted MI5&#8217;s arguments. This meant Beth and everyone else was banned from ever officially being told X was an agent and denied access to the key evidence. She was left at a serious disadvantage and may have lost the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Officer 2 had tried to cover up for the man, falsely saying he was not an abusive misogynist nor a real extremist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Following the court decision in late 2024, I challenged MI5 and said they had lied to the courts. MI5 aggressively maintained its position that its NCND policy had been maintained until I produced evidence proving it was untrue, including a recording of one of the calls with Officer 2.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Because of the BBC&#8217;s revelations, two official inquiries took place which absolved MI5 and its officers of deliberate wrongdoing, claiming the false evidence was down to mistakes and poor memories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But, in July 2025, a panel of senior High Court judges ruled that the investigations carried out by MI5 suffered from &#8220;serious procedural deficiencies&#8221; and that &#8220;we cannot rely on their conclusions&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sir John&#8217;s investigation was ordered by the prime minister in September 2025 after MI5&#8217;s explanations about what happened were rejected as deficient and unreliable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Charlotte Kilroy KC, for Beth, said contempt proceedings should be brought against Officers 2 and 3, as well as the Director General of MI5 Sir Ken McCallum in his capacity as the person with corporate responsibility for the organisation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In written submissions, she said the false evidence &#8220;did not emanate from one individual, or a &#8220;bad apple'&#8221; and was &#8220;sustained and long-lasting&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She added: &#8220;There have been repeated efforts to prevent the truth emerging. The reality of the dishonesty and false evidence that has taken place has only emerged because MI5 was faced with incontrovertible proof of its wrongdoing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She told the court that the &#8220;function&#8221; of the Goldring report was to allow it to consider whether to bring contempt proceedings, meaning the report was never meant to be the final word.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Contempt proceedings are essential&#8221;, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c3j4jz07e2v8o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The security service has accepted it gave evidence based on lies to three courts and that senior MI5 officers were repeatedly dishonest. It is the first time MI5 has accepted that lies were told to <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2026\/09\/18\/mi5-accepts-it-gave-evidence-based-on-lies-in-neo-nazi-spy-case\/\" title=\"MI5 accepts it gave evidence based on lies in neo-Nazi spy case\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,4],"tags":[13051,2895,8025,13050,592,11345,2933,13049,13048,7675],"class_list":["post-31362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-uk","tag-administration-of-justice","tag-contempt","tag-contempt-of-court","tag-false-evidence","tag-high-court","tag-investigatory-powers-tribunal","tag-mi5","tag-neo-nazi-informant","tag-neo-nazi-spy","tag-neo-nazism","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31364,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31362\/revisions\/31364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}