Hostile activity by Russia, Iran and China has intensified and now represents a complex, persistent threat to the UK, according to a new assessment published by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.
In its Annual Report covering April 2023 to March 2025, the Committee states that “the threat to the UK from hostile activity by Russian, Iranian and Chinese State-linked actors is multi-faceted and complexâ€, with activity ranging from espionage and cyber operations to sabotage, coercion and political interference.
The Committee warns that “the threat of state-sponsored assassination, attacks and abductions of those perceived as dissidents has remained at a higher level than we have seen in previous yearsâ€. It cites the December 2023 conviction of a Chechnya-born Austrian national under the Terrorism Act for collecting information on Iran International, a media organisation “under persistent threat from the Iranian regimeâ€.
Russia’s actions across Europe are highlighted in particular. The report states that “as part of its efforts to destabilise Western support to Ukraine, Russia has engaged in sabotage campaigns across Europeâ€. In response to what it describes as “an increasing pattern of malign activityâ€, the UK expelled the Russian defence attaché in May 2024 and removed diplomatic protections from several Russian-owned properties.
The Committee notes that hostile states are increasingly operating through intermediaries, saying that “proxy actors [are] increasingly conducting activity on behalf of statesâ€. It points to the prosecution in March 2025 of three UK-based Bulgarian nationals described as members of a “Russian spy ringâ€, and to UK sanctions imposed in April 2025 on the Foxtrot Network, a criminal group which “has carried out violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regimeâ€.
Espionage against the UK Government and defence sector remains a constant concern. The report states that “attempts by foreign intelligence services to conduct espionage to obtain UK Government and defence-sector secrets continueâ€. It highlights the attribution in March 2024 of a “multi-year cyber campaign†to a Chinese intrusion group, including the attempted targeting of MPs and a hack of the Electoral Commission. It also references the sentencing of former soldier Daniel Khalife in February 2025 for spying for Iran.
Beyond espionage, the Committee warns of covert political interference. It says the threat includes “the efforts of foreign states to exert covert and malign influence on UK policy, democracy and public opinionâ€, including attempts to influence “social media, journalism and political figuresâ€. Examples cited include Russian “hack and leak†operations linked to the FSB and the designation of RT as a vehicle for disinformation aimed at democratic processes.
The report also restates the ongoing terrorism threat. The UK national threat level remains “SUBSTANTIAL: an attack is likelyâ€, and MI5 and police partners disrupted 43 attack plots between March 2017 and March 2025. The Committee says attacks are most likely to come from “self-initiated terrorists radicalised onlineâ€, driven by Islamist, extreme right-wing or single-issue ideologies.
On cyber threats, the Committee concludes that the UK faces “real and enduring threats from states and cyber criminalsâ€, warning that ransomware poses “the most immediate and disruptive threat†to critical national infrastructure. Russia is described as “a capable, motivated and irresponsible threat actor in cyberspaceâ€, while China is characterised as “highly sophisticated and capable†and Iran as “aggressive in cyberspaceâ€.
Looking ahead, the report warns that artificial intelligence will further complicate the threat landscape. It states that “many nation-state threat actors and cyber criminals are already using artificial intelligence to increase the volume, and heighten the impact, of cyber attacksâ€, and that over the next five years this is likely to lead to “an expanding range and number of victims to manageâ€.
The Committee concludes that recent legislation, including the National Security Act, is intended to make the UK “a harder operating environment†for hostile states, but the assessment underlines that the breadth and intensity of threats facing the country continue to grow.
How very dare these MP’s criticise our Chicom friends! After all we let their spies off Scot free, do not look after Honk Kong Chinese like we promised, and we are letting them fund/influence our universities. AND we are going to let them build a super size takeaway outlet in London.
And dare we criticise their treatment of Uigers? Nah, they make the solar panels in prison camps for Mad Ed and the climate brigade.
Beam me up Scotty.
Don’t forget secret police stations, and our response is to write a letter for them stop.
Yup, l am learning Mandarin as l can see the future 🤣
John, they treat the wee ghurs better than DJT treats his migrants, and Reiner, and female reporters, and anyone not a Maga such as MT Greene
They don’t. The only threat to us is the Labour government and its objective of turning every single CS worker into a billionaire before 2029.
Generally Jason when someone puts out on the web that they are convinced that his own democratically elected government is more of a danger to him that an authoritarian state that has undertaken gray war attacks against his nation including deploying enough chemical weapons in a town to cause a mass casualty event and constantly threatens our nation with nuclear attack.. there is only 1 off two explanations..
1) they are a victim of political warfare action and have become a casualty of that political war and a weakness to their nation that the enemy is exploiting
2) they are a paid political warfare operative of the enemy nation.
Now you can think your government is getting things wrong and you can say why and that you are not voting for them for x reasons.. but when you call your government an enemy of the nation.. you are essentially adding to our potential future likelihood of collapse and falling under a foreign power.. the enemy wants you to hate and mistrust your government because it makes your nation weak and easy to dominate.. don’t hate HMG help tell HMG what it is you think it’s doing wrong in a constructive way and when it’s time to vote.. look at all the parties consider which one you think will strengthen our nation the most and go out and campaign for that party.. work the phones, knock on door and vote.. then the party that you did not agree with will not be in government and because they are not your enemy they will accept that and offer the government you supported constructive criticism and then will try and get people to vote for them as they develop new ideas of the way forward.. it’s the power of democracy that the authoritarians are trying to dear by promoting hate and discord.