Britain’s domestic security service MI5 acknowledged on Friday that it provided false evidence to courts while seeking to protect a violent neo-Nazi informant whose activities were uncovered by the BBC.
The admission followed an investigation led by Sir John Goldring, then-deputy investigatory powers commissioner, which found “serious and systemic failures in MI5’s conduct” in its handling of the case. The investigation found that senior MI5 officers provided false information about whether the agency had maintained its “neither confirm nor deny” policy regarding the informant, known as Agent X, according to the BBC.
Agent X used his status as an MI5 covert human intelligence source to coerce and abuse his partner, known as Beth, including attacking her with a machete, according to court documents. MI5 also disclosed his status to the BBC journalist investigating the case, despite not having obtained the required authorization to depart from its secrecy policy.
The BBC sought to identify Agent X in 2022, prompting the government to seek an injunction preventing publication of his identity. The High Court granted the injunction while allowing the BBC to report on his alleged abuse and his status as an MI5 source without identifying him. The court later made the injunction permanent.
MI5 subsequently maintained in court that it had adhered to its “neither confirm nor deny” policy. But a BBC recording of an MI5 officer discussing Agent X’s status contradicted that account, prompting further legal proceedings and an investigation ordered by then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September 2025.
Timothy Otty, representing MI5, told the High Court on Friday that the agency accepted Goldring’s findings “without reservation,” including the findings concerning individual officers and systemic failures within MI5.
A panel of three senior judges is considering whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings against individual MI5 officers or the security service itself.
