| 8.20. More fundamentally, MI5 identified to me two respects in which its still partial coverage of non-Islamist terrorism would leave it at a disadvantage: | |
| a) | In the identification and stopping of attacks: having restricted itself to the most serious leads, MIS will remain unsighted on the threat posed by those who register less prominently on the radar; and |
| b) | In the post-incident phase, where a more limited intelligence base may reduce the speed and effectiveness of its response. |
| MI5 response:
"The decision for MI5 to assume primacy of ERWT by April 2020 will help to address these issues. Over time, MI5 will be able to develop a better understanding of the full ERWT threat picture and a fuller intelligence base to rely upon during any post incident scenario, although MI5 notes that it will take some time until they achieve expertise comparable to that for Islamist terrorism." | |
| 8.21. Finally, while MI5 would like its discovery tools to be "threat agnostic" and UKIC [UK Intelligence Community] wide, the task of adapting GCHQ's techniques to the non-Islamist threat is for the future. The same is true as regards the use of MI6 liaison facilities with overseas agencies, though. MI5—while unable to act as the UK's sole interlocutor on non-Islamist terrorism—is starting to play a role in liaison with 5 Eyes and European counterparts.[1]
MI5 response: "MI5 has begun adapting MI5 Discovery trade craft for ERWT, and have a number of capabilities active against both International Terrorism and ERWT SOI that are threat agnostic. *** MI5 has also used existing relationships with the *** community to begin collaboration on *** tradecraft for the ERWT threat." | |
201. A number of the issues identified by Lord Anderson in his 2019 Stocktake have since been addressed. In September 2019, MI5 took the decision to move towards full primacy for ERWT, with information on SOIs being transferred from police systems to MI5 systems, so—in theory—it has a holistic view of the threat (rather than simply "restricting itself to the most serious leads"[2] as it did in the early stages of transition). Subsequently, on 1 April 2020 MI5 assumed full primacy for ERWT and intelligence leads, with ERWT investigations managed in parity with Islamist terrorist investigations.
202. When we asked MI5 for an update on their recruitment of CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Sources), which was highlighted as a priority in the original OIR, the Director General of MI5 told us that:
***.[3]
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