UK MI5 gave false court evidence report finds

The UK's domestic intelligence service, MI5, has been found to have provided false evidence to three courts in a case involving a violent neo-Nazi informant, according to a damning independent report published on Thursday, July 16, 2026. The investigation, led by Deputy Investigatory Powers Commissioner Sir John Goldring, concluded that senior officers lied and misled colleagues, resulting in what he described as a "cascade of dishonesty" and "serious and systemic" failures.

The report centers on the handling of an informant known as Agent X, a foreign national and neo-Nazi who was accused of violently abusing his British partner, a woman identified by the alias Beth. Court records state he used his status with MI5 to coerce and intimidate her, culminating in an attack with a machete. MI5 later helped him leave the UK to continue intelligence work while he was under police investigation.

The core of the scandal involves MI5's adherence to its "neither confirm nor deny" (NCND) secrecy policy regarding informants. In three separate legal proceedings-a government attempt to block media reporting in 2022, a case brought by Beth at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, and a High Court...