Rightwing extremists increasingly likely to consider terrorist attacks, MI5 chief says

<p>Move from anti-immigration or anti-Muslim views to violence is ‘most marked trend’ in spy agency’s caseload over last year</p><p>Extremists holding anti-immigration opinions are becoming increasingly likely to consider carrying out terrorist attacks against immigration centres and asylum hotels in the UK, the head of MI5 has warned.</p><p>Ken McCallum said a shift from radicalised rightwing sentiment to violence was “the most marked trend” in the spy agency’s caseload over the past year, contributing to a rise in the overall UK terror threat level.</p><p>Russia remains “aggressor number one” as the Kremlin continues to lash out against the west with assassination plots, explosive threats and cyber-attacks that at times stop “not much short” of conventional warfare.</p><p>Moscow <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/11/andy-burnham-russia-interfered-brexit-vote">tried to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum</a> with anti-EU coverage on RT and Sputnik media, and via troll social media accounts, but there was a big difference between “what may have been attempted and what actually resulted”.</p><p>He was “particularly focused” on the risk of hostile states or terrorists using AI to generate new, deadly bioweapons, and announced the creation of a new AI threat assessment centre to distinguish fact from fiction.</p><p>There was a “concerning trend of violence targeted at political figures, religious or community groups”, as demonstrated by the killing of the former minister and Reform UK spokesperson Anne Widdecombe.</p><p>Threats from other states had quadrupled in the last decade and were running on par with MI5’s counter-terrorism mission. “We have again entered a new era of national security,” he said.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/13/rightwing-extremists-increasingly-likely-to-consi