A damning official report has concluded that MI5 presented evidence based on "lies" to three courts while defending a violent neo-Nazi informant. The report, authored by deputy investigatory powers commissioner Sir John Goldring, delivers severe criticism against several senior MI5 figures and the organisation as a whole, plunging the security service into a significant crisis.
Sir John's investigation, ordered by the Prime Minister in September 2025 after the High Court dismissed MI5's explanations as insufficient, confirms revelations made by the BBC in February 2025 that MI5 had lied to the courts – an accusation the security service had previously vehemently denied. The report highlights that one senior MI5 officer repeatedly lied, while another misled colleagues and misrepresented information they had received.
The core of the issue revolves around MI5's adherence to its 'neither confirm nor deny' (NCND) policy regarding the agent status of the violent neo-Nazi informant. MI5 falsely claimed to the courts that it had maintained this policy, which consequently allowed it to withhold information from a woman who had been abused by the informant. However, the report found that MI5 had in fact disclosed the man's agent status in phone calls in 2020.
Specific criticisms within the report detail that a senior MI5 officer, identified as Officer 2, repeatedly told "lies" which formed the basis of MI5's false account to the courts. Officer 2 allegedly presented a "wholly fictitious account" denying ever disclosing the agent's status. Another senior officer, Officer 3, is criticised for misleading colleagues and not acting in good faith, bearing "considerable responsibility for the continuation of MI5's falsehood". Furthermore, an MI5 deputy director, Witness A, is cited for overstating matters in an internal meeting, contributing to the reliance on the false account.
MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum acknowledged the gravity of the failings, stating, "MI5 recognises without hesitation the seriousness of our failings in these proceedings." He reiterated apologies to the courts for the incorrect evidence and the organisation's slow response. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the report's findings as "stark" and confirmed she is taking "urgent action to hold MI5 to account for these failures, including strengthening my oversight and assurance of their work."