BBC reveals MI5 agent terrorised girlfriend and wanted to kill ‘Jews’
BBC reported that evidence shows the agent, who cannot be named, is a violent “right-wing extremist” who hoarded Nazi paraphernalia and routinely terrorised his partner.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
An MI5 spy who exploited his status to terrorise his girlfriend before moving abroad had also written about killing “Jews” in a private diary.
The BBC has reported on the story for the first time on Thursday following a legal battle where the Government sought to block publication of the agent’s identity.
An injunction remains in place to prevent the corporation from disclosing information likely to identify the man, referred to only as “X”, who is said to be a covert human intelligence source.
In an unprecedented legal battle, the corporation argued that women had a right to know his identity and it would protect potential victims from harm.
On Thursday the BBC reported that evidence shows the agent is a violent “right-wing extremist” who hoarded Nazi paraphernalia and routinely terrorised his partner.
Video footage also showed X threatening to kill the woman named Beth and attacking her with a machete.
During a search of the home after the machete attack, local police officers had discovered extremist material – including X’s personal Nazi paraphernalia.
The BBC confirmed it had seen a police log showing the evidence found by officers.
This included a private diary in which X had written about killing “Jews”. He had also written about killing Beth.
The agent is said to have moved abroad to continue intelligence work while under investigation.
On Wednesday a High Court ruling allowed the BBC to make details known about the informant’s alleged abuse towards two different women.
X was arrested and charged over the attack but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) allegedly dropped the case when it reached court, the BBC says.
The BBC quotes Beth as saying: “There was so much psychological terror from him to me, that ultimately culminated in me having a breakdown, because I was so afraid of everything – because of how he’d made me think, the people that he was involved with, and the people who he worked for,”
Attorney General Suella Braverman sought an injunction to block a planned broadcast which would identify the man, arguing it would damage national security and create “a real and immediate risk of serious or life-threatening harm” to him.
Mr Justice Chamberlain has previously said the BBC can still air the programme and the key issues, but not identify X.
Following the publication of the ruling on Wednesday, the BBC said: “This ruling enables us to tell a story we believe is firmly in the public interest, and it is a vindication of the BBC’s investigative journalism.”
A Government spokesperson said: “As a matter of long-standing policy we will not comment on security or intelligence.
“As the judge in this case says, the interim injunction, which the Government was granted in April, is aimed at protecting national security and avoiding a real and immediate risk to life, safety and privacy.”
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