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MI5 has apologised and paid compensation to a woman who alleged the Security Service was to blame for her being attacked with a machete and abused by one of its agents.
The woman, known only as Beth, was in a relationship with a man she says used his status as an MI5 agent to perpetrate abuse and terrorise her into silence.
The agent was being used to infiltrate the far right and it is alleged his past violence against women had been reported to a police force overseas.
She complained to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which oversees MI5, and in an unprecedented move, the agency has paid compensation and made a public apology, as well as a fuller private apology, to settle the case. It continues to deny liability.
The episode saw MI5 mislead three court proceedings as it claimed it could not discuss anything concerning the agent’s alleged conduct because of a blanket policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) who worked for it.
But in 2020, MI5 broke its own policy when it tried privately to dissuade a BBC journalist from running Beth’s claims. Despite having done this it then gave written evidence to three hearings that the policy could never be broken and never had been.
Proceedings against MI5 for contempt of court remain possible and whether it honestly made a mistake in its evidence or lied is the subject of an investigation, ordered by the prime minister.
Beth told the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) that the man who abused her, known only as agent X, claimed he was protected by the British state and untouchable. Her claim to the IPT was made under human rights law and a hearing was due next month.
MI5’s misleading of previous official hearings is being considered by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office, which is chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, and is expected to soon produce a report. The high court said it was unconvinced by an internal review into the saga.
Beth said MI5 was still hiding behind a wall of silence: “I am grateful for the compensation I’ve received, but it can never do anything to repair what I went through at the hands of [agent] X. I’d pay that money so as not to have to experience even a minute of what I had to experience of the worst of his abuse.
“Unfortunately I feel very strongly that, in spite of this apology, MI5 are still protecting this violent misogynistic predator as for years now they have refused to answer any questions about him.”
MI5 has apologised specifically for how it handled court proceedings dealing with Beth’s complaint. It has not publicly apologised for its agent’s conduct.
In a statement, MI5’s director general, Sir Ken McCallum, said: “We sincerely apologise to Beth for the distress she has suffered because of MI5 mistakes in this litigation. We relied on incorrect evidence and our record keeping fell well short of the standard of professionalism that we expect, and to which Beth was entitled. We profoundly regret that our mistakes prolonged the litigation and caused additional suffering for Beth.
“MI5 has settled Beth’s claim and we have apologised to Beth directly. Prompted in part by Beth’s case, MI5 has embarked on a programme of work to reinforce the highest standards of record keeping and information management.”
Kate Ellis, of the Centre for Women’s Justice, who acted for Beth, said: “A full hearing of Beth’s allegations would, in my view, have been highly embarrassing for MI5, who have already been heavily criticised for misleading the courts.
“Recruiting someone as an agent for our national security services affords them a degree of status and protection. We have always maintained that MI5 did not adequately assess the risks of giving that status to someone with X’s history and his disturbing attitudes to women.
“Given all we have learned from this case, and the shocking evidence that is still coming out of the undercover policing inquiry, I hope that the state will reconsider using women as a collateral in covert operations.”
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