MI5 apologises and pays compensation to woman allegedly abused by agent

"The woman, known only as Beth, was in a relationship with a man she says used his status as an MI5 agent to perpetrate abuse and terrorise her into silence. The agent was being used to infiltrate the far right and it is alleged his past violence against women had been reported to a police force overseas."

"The episode saw MI5 mislead three court proceedings as it claimed it could not discuss anything concerning the agent's alleged conduct because of a blanket policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) who worked for it. But in 2020, MI5 broke its own policy when it tried privately to dissuade a BBC journalist from running Beth's claims."

"Despite having done this it then gave written evidence to three hearings that the policy could never be broken and never had been. Proceedings against MI5 for contempt of court remain possible and whether it honestly made a mistake in its evidence or lied is the subject of an investigation, ordered by the prime minister."

MI5 has apologized and compensated a woman known as Beth who was attacked and abused by an MI5 agent infiltrating far-right groups. The agent allegedly used his status to perpetrate violence and silence her. Beth filed a complaint with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. MI5 initially invoked its policy of neither confirming nor denying employment of agents to avoid discussing the matter in court proceedings. However, MI5 privately contacted a BBC journalist to discourage coverage of Beth's claims, contradicting its stated policy. The agency then provided written evidence to three hearings claiming the policy was never broken. This contradiction has triggered investigations into whether MI5 deliberately misled courts, with potential contempt of court proceedings possible.

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