UK public at risk from hostile state threats - MI5

The head of MI5 is to urge the public to be as vigilant about threats from "hostile states" as from terrorism. These include disruptive cyber-attacks, misinformation, espionage and interference in politics - and are usually linked to Russia and China.

In a speech on Wednesday, Ken McCallum will say these "less visible threats... have the potential to affect us all". He will say these threats are affecting UK jobs and public services and could even lead to a loss of life.

The head of the Security Service wants to challenge the idea that activity by so-called "hostile states", usually taken to mean primarily Russia and China, only affects governments or certain institutions. Instead, he will argue, in an annual threat update, that the British public are not immune to the "tentacles" of covert action by other states.