The head of the British Security Service assures that Russian officials have been operating in recent years as "private intelligence agents". The director of the British MI5, Ken McCallum, has warned that Russia is encouraging "sustained violence on the streets of Europe" and instigating "arson,

The head of Britain’s domestic security service said Russia’s military intelligence service was pursuing “dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.”

Ken McCallum said the number of state-threat investigations undertaken by MI5 has risen by 48 percent in the past year.