MIS misled’ court to hide identity of neo-Nazi agent accused of machete attack

The MIS5 has been forced to admit it misled” the High Court during a bid to prevent the BBC from identifying a suspected Security Service informant.

- JABED AHMED

In 2022, the government attempted to stop the BBC from airing a programme that would name a neo-Nazi state agent who allegedly abused two women and is a covert human intelligence source.

An order was made by a High Court judge in April 2022 to prevent the corporation from disclosing information likely to identify the man. However, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the BBC could still air the programme and the key issues, without identifying him, referring to them only as “X”.

The High Court heard yesterday that part of written evidence provided by MI5 was false, and the court was “misled”. Jude Bunting KC, for the BBC, said the investigatory powers tribunal, which has heard a related case, may have also been misled. The short hearing was told that a paragraph in a witness statement, provided by a witness known only as A, was misleading.