The director general of the UK’s domestic security service MI5, provided an overview
of current security risk trends faced by the UK during a rare threat update on 8 October. The speech
was the first of its kind since 2022, and broadly covered topics including Iranian, Chinese and Russian
espionage and hybrid warfare, as well as more specifically focusing on terrorism.
McCallum argued that, currently, UK intelligence and security services are facing an increased threat
from Islamist Violent Extremist Organisations (VEOs), and that the Islamic State (IS) is most active
among them. McCallum also highlighted how MI5 resources are currently overstretched.