UK may already be at war with Russia, ex-MI5 head suggests

The former head of MI5 says hostile cyberattacks and intelligence operations directed by The Kremlin indicate the UK might already be at war with Russia. Baroness Manningham-Buller, who served as Director General of the intelligence agency from 2002 to 2007 and was the second woman to fill the role, made the claim on Lord …

[elsergiovolador]

Suggestion

The bright bulb might also say the bears do their business in the woods.

Funny how they had their heads in the sand when subsequent corrupt governments sold Britain to foreign corporations, giving them massive power over our democracy.

Who voted for Digital ID? Big consultancies.

[Like a badger]

Re: Suggestion

"Funny how they had their heads in the sand when subsequent corrupt governments sold Britain to foreign corporations, giving them massive power over our democracy."

Short of a coup, what would you propose they should have done?

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Suggestion

Framing this as ‘short of a coup’ misses the point entirely. MI5’s statutory duty is to defend the nation from subversion and hostile influence. While the spotlight was on terrorists, foreign corporates and consultancy cartels quietly gained policy leverage and structural control over critical sectors. That wasn’t mere politics - it was a security risk. By looking the other way, MI5 failed the nation: taxpayers were robbed blind through the back door, and democracy was weakened under the guise of business as usual. Exposing that wouldn’t have been a coup, it would have been their job.

What should they have done? Exactly what their remit allows: investigate foreign-linked lobbying, trace flows of money shaping policy, flag compromised procurement and regulatory capture, and escalate findings beyond the Prime Minister to Parliament and the Intelligence and Security Committee. A competent MI5 could have forced daylight onto these practices, pressing agencies like the NCA and SFO to act rather than ignore politically connected wrongdoing. That’s not overthrowing democracy - it’s protecting it from being hollowed out.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

escalate findings beyond the Prime Minister to Parliament and the Intelligence and Security Committee.

I think going to Parliament as a whole, would be going beyond their brief and interfering in politics, because any opposition would make hay with it.

Their chain of command is the minister, with oversight by the cross parliamentary committee. It's for the minister to decide what goes to the PM and for the PM to decide what goes to Parliament.

[JimmyPage]

Re: Suggestion

PARLIAMENT is suprme.

Not the government.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

Not played their game at election time. But that requires people to think, understand what is happening and not just believe the narrative fed to them. So probably nothing we can do.

[Omnipresent]

Re: Suggestion

The very first words out of my mouth were... "no duh, ya think?"

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

Nobody voted for digital ID. They'll have to thrust it into my cold dead hands before I'll have one.

I can't wait for the next election.

[Ian Johnston]

Re: Suggestion

Since it is obvious that digital ID - if it ever works - will have absolutely no effect on the black economy, we should be asking why exactly Labour is dredging this up again. Is it just their bossy social-workers-know-best ethos or do they have an actual aim in mind? Because if it.s the latter, and they are not admitting it, we can safely assume that the aim is evil.

But of course, it won't work. So we're probably safe, for now.

[Helcat]

Re: Suggestion

There's a fair chance that rumour in this instance is correct: That this is money for their mates. This will be outsourced and it'll go to someone who already has their fingers in Labour's pie. Possibly even pulling strings: That's how politics seems to work these days.

So no open tender, best bid wins etc: Just the same old bull and a total waste of tax payer money. And to think: Liebour keep harping on about how we should tax the rich, while they're funding the mega-wealthy with projects like this.

Yes: That's another reason not to want this digital ID.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

The money for mates is just a happy side effect, this is all about control. It may not be law but 'they' will ensure it is demanded to work, to buy and to bank. So, you have a choice be a criminal and be hunted or be legal and a slave.

[bravo6]

Re: Suggestion

You really think that elections make a difference anymore?

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Suggestion

An election does not solve this. Whoever gets voted in next time will continue/restart digital ID. The only option is to delay it now by writing to your MP. That should delay it until after the next election when you will have to delay it again, and again until you die. Then your descends will have to continue the delaying tactics.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

How about Nurnberg 2.0 only this time not a show trial with a few thrown under the bus?

We need to cut off the gangrenous limb of "leadership" that we allowed to develop.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

"I can't wait for the next election."

What next election, if there even is one, it'll be rigged. Democracy is nearly gone. Vote independents that should cause government to be in chaos for a while which means no more legislation and things will improve.

[BartyFartsLast]

Re: Suggestion

And Tony Blair, his "institute" has been a major influence on this ID scheme.

It's disgusting that starmer is using reform rhetoric to further deminse immigrants in his attempts to railroad this scheme through.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suggestion

"It's disgusting that starmer is using reform rhetoric to further deminse immigrants in his attempts to railroad this scheme through."

This government has not one jot of integrity and decency.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to mention political interventions

We should be treating the funding fed to UKIP/Brexit/Reform politicians and causes as part of the same war effort and respond to them as the military and social threat that they always have been, instead of lavishing relentless media attention on them every day for decades.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Can we do the same for the far left groups? It has long been known that Russia has been funding environmental groups, especially the anti-fracking groups. One has to ask where the funding is coming from for the tea towel wearing protests. They all seem very well organised.

[Grunchy]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Believe it or not I am firmly against the far left agenda too! I’m against all the extremists. Same as everyone else, or nearly everyone else. Why do we keep getting stuck with extremists running the agenda? Well it’s a calculated deficiency in Democracy itself, I’m afraid. The mechanics of the Democratic vote have been artificially limited for millennia: nobody is ever allowed to vote “against” any extremist, everybody is forced to vote “support” for some other nominee. And that’s the gotcha: the only people with the stomach to join political parties and who therefore have the power to select nominees are ONLY the extremists. (Seriously, 95% of people are too preoccupied with cooking dinner and watching TV to ever get involved.)

Every bill scrutinized by politicians is decided by a process known as “plebiscite” wherein politicians are granted the power to vote not only “yes,” they can also vote “no,” too. That’s what true Democracy looks like, but nobody else is allowed to vote like that: only politicians are allowed.

(The idea is r/PlebisciteBallot, it’s on Reddit, there’s a clumsy video https://youtu.be/1WiPbLgMHSQ there’s a proposed solution but we would have to to consider the possibility of renovating the way ballots are voted.)

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

The core problem isn’t just ballot mechanics - it’s that there’s no real mechanism to hold politicians to account once elected. Agencies like MI5, NCA, and SFO take taxpayer money but routinely avoid tackling the subversion and corruption shaping policy. So we get the same dance: people vote in good faith, and then the agenda delivered is something entirely different.

It doesn’t even matter which party is in charge - politicians are dazzled by the same lobbyists pushing Digital ID, CBDCs, OSA, mass data-sharing, and other schemes that only a few years ago were dismissed as conspiracy theories. Nobody ever voted for this. The rise of so-called extremists isn’t about ideology - it’s a reaction to the social contract being broken. It’s the political equivalent of kicking the chessboard when the game is rigged.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

"Why do we keep getting stuck with extremists running the agenda?"

Cos politicians foolishly think that kowtowing to the screeching minority is somehow going to get them more votes. Kamala Harris found this out as on the left the baying mob is so much more fickle and if you don't agree 110% you are not one of them. She went all in on some rather niche policies and also very foolishly told group A one thing and group B another thing and did not consider that someone might notice.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

It worked for Trump.

[Dan 55]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Yes, she tried to appeal to the left by bringing out noted far-left activists like the Cheneys and proposing a kind of Trump-light policy on immigration. No, actually her support from the left collapsed and the right didn't vote for her either.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

That was EPIC! I would have loved to have been in the meeting where they proposed bringing out one of the most hated warmongering families in US political history as a mascot for the Democrat party.

[Ian Johnston]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

It's always entertaining to take a dive down the Wikipedia rabbit hole of UK far left parties. About the only one which has not fissured innumerable times is the SWP and that's because they are basically a bunch of fascists who take their policies and party discipline from the far right.

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Politicians have been saying different things to different groups for decades. It is how they get elected.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Yeah, its just not been as easy to spot.

Hey <group A>, I support your struggle against <group B> and I stand with you!

Hey <group B>, I support your struggle against <group A> and I stand with you!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

No, this is planned destruction. Politicians are along for the ride as actors on the stage, they are not directing, just well paid stars.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

EVERYONE is well organised because EVERYONE uses Social media ... even the thugs & rioters use it !!!

It must be stated that the world is NOT so simple that all issues can be represented by simple LEFT vs RIGHT choice of actions/policies. Some issues need a more nuanced view and consequent solution.

The left is fragmented into lots of groups with differing views about fine detail which means that they are constantly fighting each other more than they fight the real enemy (whoever that might be). This is their weakness, respect for the 'unheard' people, at the bottom of the social ladder, tends to mean they have problems with denying any other supporters their 'voice' as it would be mirroring the tactics of the people they are opposed to. This freedom is their 'kryptonite' as they will fight each other even when they have won the war, and undo the victory by 'snatching defeat from the very jaws of victory' once again !!!

The right on the other hand tends to be much more organised & patient, seeing that a win at the more 'acceptable' end of their beliefs is a very useful way to get into power. Once there the more 'adventurous' beliefs are easy to introduce when the 'Dumb voters' have lost their power and temporary importance. This also means that they are much more adept at suppressing the voices that they do not wish heard until later when the 'die has been cast', by the 'Dumb voters'. 'Equal & fair' does not apply anywhere, so suppression at all levels both inside and outside of the party is all considered 'Fair play'. Their weakness is that they cannot see that 'Might is Right' does not work for ever ... eventually people see through the slogans and waving flags and realise that it is not working for ALL of them ... usually, in fact, MOST of them !!!

See the adventures of a certain German Corporal (1933-45) to see how this can play out !!!

:)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

You've got your sides the wrong way around ;)

"The right on the other hand tends to be much more organised & patient"

Partly correct. The right is very splintered but we are a more tolerant and accepting of other viewpoints. We also have to be very patient as we do our level best to use lawful methods. The right works for a compromise that will suit the majority.

The left is more splintered as everyone is trying to out virtue each other and the left is just staggeringly intolerant of any alternative viewpoints except the current ingroup thing.

"tends to mean they have problems with denying any other supporters their 'voice' "

You just need to look at how the tea towel brigade have hijacked pride events as they think that tea towels are higher up the oppression pyramid than LGBTQAI$~zz^¬. So they get to take priority and ruin it for EVERYONE! They could not accept that a pride event wasn't centred exclusively on THEIR group. The people at the pride event to celebrate what pride events are supposed to be about were denied a voice as they were not virtuous enough.

Those higher up in the left are the ones that take advantage of the 'dumb voters'. They convince the impressionable, usually people with some sort of mental health issues, that if you do what they say then all will be perfect. This is how you get huge crowds of black clad people all tooled up and smashing and burning everything in their path. I think it was Destiny who pointed out that 7 of the 10 biggest riots have taken place under Trump's watch. Of which only one (and really it wasn't that big cos no buildings were burnt down and it only lasted a couple of hours) involved people on the political right. The missing 3 are likely to include the LA riots (not the right) and the 2015 BLM riots (again not the right).

"Their weakness is that they cannot see that 'Might is Right' does not work for ever"

Which is why people are rightly fed up of the black clad, rock throwing LARPers taking over the streets. Waving a flag for an organisation that worked hand in hand with the NSDAP to violently keep the 'capitalists' out of Germany. Yes, this is true. They actually helped the vertically lacking Austrian to power.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

The people at the pride event to celebrate what pride events are supposed to be about were denied a voice as they were not virtuous enough.

And have you seen what happened to lesbians who complained that men in dresses wanted to march in Pride as lesbians?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Misogyny in a dress. Nuff said.

[Casca]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Another right wing AC as usual...

[JPCavendish]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Being an AC isn't a marker of right or left I'm afraid. I had a run-in here recently with two ACs who were most definitely way out on the left.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

The modern right claims to be open to a wide diversity of opinion from "black people are bad" through "women are bad" to "gay people are bad" but their only actual belief is that there is a group of special people (mostly straight white men) who should be allowed to do anything to anybody and everybody else, who should allow the first group to do things to them without complaining. Their entire and only selling point is "you could be part of the special group!" but in practice that group keeps contracting until they're fighting amongst themselves about who is in it, or until all the people they promised a special place to wake up* to the fact they're being used and stolen from.

Once you realise the only thing they want is a special group exercising raw power without constraint and that they feel justified in doing anything to achieve that because nobody else is fully human to them, a lot of their behaviours fall into place.

*This, of course, is why they hate the woke. They need compliant sheep, not conscious people who are willing to resist their depredations.

[JPCavendish]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

"The modern right claims to be open to a wide diversity of opinion from "black people are bad" through "women are bad" to "gay people are bad" but their only actual belief is that there is a group of special people (mostly straight white men) who should be allowed to do anything to anybody and everybody else, who should allow the first group to do things to them without complaining. Their entire and only selling point is "you could be part of the special group!" but in practice that group keeps contracting until they're fighting amongst themselves about who is in it, or until all the people they promised a special place to wake up* to the fact they're being used and stolen from.

Once you realise the only thing they want is a special group exercising raw power without constraint and that they feel justified in doing anything to achieve that because nobody else is fully human to them, a lot of their behaviours fall into place."

You misspelled "left".

[Jellied Eel]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

This, of course, is why they hate the woke.

Most of the hate seems to be coming from the far-left. Just ask Charlie Kirk's widow. Otherwise the woke are just the compliant sheep, willing to protest anything and everything at the drop of a MAGA hat. They're just the modern iteration of the way the Democrats created the KKK to spread fear and hatred in the past. But when they're not rioting or killing people, they can be entertaining watching lefties losing it and melting down when they don't get their own way.

You're also demonstrating that other classic 'woke' trait, namely projection.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

It would be hard to be more wrong but I would not put money on it. The left are pretty special!

"Their entire and only selling point is "you could be part of the special group!" "

So what you've actually done is describe the 'woke' left. The entire identity of some people revolves around their group memberships. intersections and hierarchy within the groups. These people are always easily spotted as they will introduce themselves with a list of groups/subgroups that they use to define themselves rather than actually introducing themselves.

This is how we got to the point where a pride march had to be cancelled due to infighting between groups about who takes priority.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pride-parade-cancelled-after-being-halted-by-pro-palestinian-protesters-1.5554689

https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/07/08/london-pride-youth-demand-protest-parade-palestine/

Note in the second article the group is called 'YOUTH DEMAND'. They have been brought up to believe that if they 'demand' something then they will get it. No-one has ever said 'no' to these kids. They also think that due to their group membership that they out rank everyone else at the event despite the event having pretty much nothing to do with them. The kids are upset that not everyone wants to join their group, and again from what they have been taught, if someone won't join their group then that person is an enemy and they are justified in being angry and taking direct action.

[Jellied Eel]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

They have been brought up to believe that if they 'demand' something then they will get it. No-one has ever said 'no' to these kids.

It's both entertaing and depressing watching bodycam videos of LEOs encounters with the entitled. Often starting with something that could have been easily dealt with with a ticket or a caution, then steadily escalates into more serious charges. "I know my rights!" (They don't). "You can't tell me what to do!" (They can, and that's why they have a warrant card, are sworn officers). Then sometimes ending up with screaming 'adults' being tased, bundled into a wrap (do UK LEOs have those? and if not, why not?) and hauled off to jail.

[Adair]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

O wad some Power the giftie gie us

To see oursels as ithers see us!

It wad frae mony a blunder free us,

An’ foolish notion:

What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,

An’ ev’n devotion!

With thanks to Roberbie Burns.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

First, it appears to me that the right, as in conservative, are far more willing to accept diversity than the left, they simply do not want alternative lifestyles it forced & coreced on them or their children. Second, who doesn't want their tribe to be take precedence. At least the right consider their tribe about character not skin colour and they don't want to brutalise those that disagree, just sideline.

[Ian Johnston]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

This is their weakness, respect for the 'unheard' people, at the bottom of the social ladder...

The left has very little time indeed for people at the bottom of the social ladder, because they keep wanting the wrong things, like climbing the ladder. That's why "false consciousness" was invented and why the SWP believes in "permanently deflected revolution" which means, basically, that the proles will never be able to run things and that the intellectuals (seriously, that's how they see themselves) of the SWP will have to do it for them.

[Bebu sa Ware]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

"intellectuals ... of the SWP"

Reading the Wiki entry for the SWP they would have to be the toxic sludge found at the bottom of any third rate political think tank.

"Citizen Smith " would be a veritable Einstein amongst that lot.

Orwell's pigs had much the same idea but generally had far more of a clue but arguably they were actually fascists.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Some interesting thoughts but I would add 2 points; it is not apparent to me what the difference is between far-left and far-right, just opposite sides of the same coin and easily flipped, also the constant use of the "extreme" tag for disagreement is guaranteed to allow a truly extreme party into power or at least one that becomes extreme.

Most decent people want the same outcome, we only disagree on the means to achieve it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

100% While I am appalled at what is happening in Gaza, it is being used politically.

[Wellyboot]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

To be fair to the media, they do make far more entertaining headlines & photo's than the traditional parties with all their media image consultants.

When politicians start calling other politicians rude names it's a racing cert that they don't want to get into a public discourse on the finer policy issues.

[SundogUK]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

Please point to a single verifiable source showing Russian funding to UKIP/Brexit/Reform politicians.

[breakfast]

Re: Not to mention political interventions

I'm not here to use a search engine on your behalf, but just so this kind of deflection doesn't go entirely unanswered the most recent court case was less than a week ago: Ex-Reform politician admits Russia-linked bribery charges.