Russian intelligence services have become “wild” and “reckless” in the way they plan attacks in Britain and across Europe, the head of MI6 warned in a rare public appearance yesterday.
In a landmark joint interview with CIA chief Richard Moore, he said Moscow is now using criminal gangs to carry out state-sponsored terrorist attacks in Europe, which are endangering more lives because they are “more amateurish.”
His CIA counterpart, William Burns, said coordinated operations between the UK and US intelligence services were foiling plots across the continent and in mainland Britain.
They performed to a packed audience amid tight security at the FT Weekend Festival in north London, where they discussed the long-standing relationship between MI6 and the CIA.
Burns also revealed how the CIA feared Vladimir Putin would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine in the fall of 2022, after falsely accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of stockpiling nuclear materials for an attack on his troops.
In a landmark joint interview with CIA chief Richard Moore (pictured) he said Moscow is now using criminal gangs for state-sponsored terrorist attacks in Europe, which are endangering more lives because they are “more amateurish”.
His CIA counterpart William Burns (pictured) said coordinated operations between the UK and US intelligence services were foiling plots across the continent and in mainland Britain.
They performed to a packed audience amid tight security at the FT Weekend Festival in north London, where they spoke about the long-standing relationship between MI6 and the CIA.
The CIA chief also said that 90 percent of a new peace deal between Israel and Hamas is complete, adding that its details could be released in the “coming days.”
Moore, known as C to his officers, spoke about how the two services often conduct intelligence operations together. “Sometimes we decide who is best positioned to go first; we call it the best athlete model. Whoever is best positioned to do it, we work in a non-competitive way to get the result,” he said.
The head of MI6 said Russian intelligence services had carried out sabotage and criminal acts in Britain and Europe and had become “much more savage”.
He added: “The fact that they are using a criminal element shows that they are getting a bit desperate; they can’t use their own people. They are happy to use criminals. It’s a bit more reckless.”
Moore was referring to an arson attack in Leyton, east London, targeting a Ukraine-linked company suspected of being run by Moscow. Two men have since been charged with collaborating with Russian intelligence after the Metropolitan Police used its anti-terror powers to investigate.
He also said the 2018 Salisbury poisoning was “emblematic” of the recklessness of Russian agents.
“They left a large vial of lethal poison lying around for people to pick up,” he said. “It could have killed an entire school; in fact, it killed an innocent British civilian.”
Two Russian agents sprayed the doorknob of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal (pictured) with the nerve agent Novichok, nearly killing him and his daughter.
Dawn Sturgess died in 2018 after being exposed to the Novichok nerve agent that had been discarded in a perfume bottle following the attack on Sergei Skripal.
Two Russian agents sprayed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal’s doorknob with the nerve agent Novichok, nearly costing him and his daughter their lives. But the perfume bottle containing the poison was later collected by a woman named Dawn Sturgess, who later died.
Speaking publicly for the first time about how the CIA feared Russia was close to using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine months after the conflict began, Burns said: “There was a point in the fall of 2022 where I think there was a real risk of potential use of tactical nuclear weapons. I felt we should not be intimidated by Putin.”
He was sent to the Turkish capital, Ankara, to tell FSB chief Sergei Naryshkin how the West would respond “militarily” if Russia used nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Mr Burns said yesterday: “We cannot afford to be cowed by such sabre-rattling and bullying. The record shows that the United States has provided enormous support to Ukraine, and I am sure we will continue to do so.”
Mr. Burns has been intimately involved in the difficult Middle East negotiations between Hamas and Israel, with Qatar and Egypt acting as intermediaries.
Russian troops load an Iskander missile onto a mobile launcher during military exercises at an undisclosed location in Russia
Intelligence chiefs gave the public interview to Financial Times editor Roula Khalaf in the grounds of Kenwood House in Hampstead.
He said 90 percent of the peace deal is complete, adding: “The last 10 percent is the last 10 percent for a reason… it’s the hardest part to do. But we will make this more detailed proposal, hopefully in the next few days, and then we’ll see.”
And he warned that Hamas cannot be completely defeated. “Hamas is a despicable terrorist organization,” he said. “You can severely degrade its military capability, but it is a movement and an idea, and the way to kill an idea is with a better idea.”
The intelligence chiefs, giving a public interview to Financial Times editor Roula Khalaf in the grounds of Kenwood House in Hampstead, said China was their main concern and that 20 per cent of the CIA’s resources were dedicated to the regime in Beijing.
